A Birthday To Remember
by spudbud16
Summary: His birthday has never been something Naruto liked to celebrate; A reminder of a dark event that happened in the past. Now that he's nineteen, maybe Kurama could change his mind. Anthro female Kurama x Naruto. Picture does not belong to me, it was made by thedoombuggy on deviantart.
1. Chapter 1

A Birthday to Remember

 **Just a fair warning, this probably isn't the best fanfic, this is the first time I tried to write a Naruto fanfic. Also, I want to apologize in advance, as some characters won't act like they do in the anime or mangas. Writing about characters that already have a preset attitude are harder to write about. Anyways, besides this, I hope you enjoy this story.**

 _Naruto's POV_

Trudging slowly through the village after a recent mission, I walked aimlessly, worn out, yet not tired enough to sleep. Eventually, I was snapped out of my thoughts by the smell of ramen. Deciding to get a bowl or two, I pulled the curtain at the entrance aside and walked in. Looking up, Teuchi, the chef, smiled.

"Ah, Naruto! Welcome! Should I get you the usual?" He asked, and I smiled weakly, nodding and sitting down at the counter. "So Naruto, you don't look like your normal, cheerful self, is something on your mind?" He asked, and I sighed.

"I just got back from a mission, so I'm just beat, that's all." I said, and he nodded in understanding, before placing a bowl of ramen in front of me.

"Well, here you are, one Ichiraku Miso ramen with extra pork, just the way you like it!" He said, and I smiled, thanking him and grabbing some chopsticks, before beginning to eat. "So, word on the street is that it's your birthday today! How old does that make you today?" He asked, and I sighed.

"...Nineteen, but I don't really celebrate it." I said, and he looked at me in surprise.

"What? Why wouldn't you celebrate your birthday?" He asked, but I shook my head, picking up my bowl and sipping the broth, before setting the empty bowl back down.

"I have my reasons..." I said, looking away. "And anyways, I would just be celebrating alone." I said, before standing up and taking out my wallet. "You know, I'm no longer that hungry. I think I'm gonna go now. Thanks for the food, Old Man Teuchi." I said, placing some money on the counter, before walking out of the shop. Walking through the shopping district, I stopped by the general store and picked up several bags of candles and made my way to the cemetery, preparing for what I did every year on my birthday. As the wooden walls surrounding the cemetery came into view, I took a deep breath. Entering the wooden gate, I immediately felt the wary gazes of the people visiting their dead loved ones. Nodding respectably to them, I slowly began to set candles down at each tombstone, lighting them and saying a quick prayer. After setting down the candles, I began to head towards the statue of the flame in the center, before someone called my name.

"Naruto?" They said, and I turned around, only to see Iruka Sensei.

"Hm? Oh, hey Iruka Sensei, what's up?" I asked, continuing towards the statue. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he smiled.

"W-what are you doing here, Naruto? Shouldn't you be out with your friends celebrating your birthday?" He asked, and I sighed.

"Why should I?" I asked, and he lifted his hand from my shoulder slightly, looking at me in surprise. "This isn't a day anyone should celebrate. It may be my birthday, but today also marks the event that took so many lives nineteen years ago. Just look around... I may be a shinobi of the Leaf, but nobody can forget what's been locked up inside of me." I said, turning away.

"Naruto..." He began, before taking a look around, noticing the looks of wariness that were being pointed my way. Sighing, I shook my head.

"Anyways, to answer your question, don't mind me, I'm just here to pay my respects; Like I do every year." I said, walking to the base of the statue. Iruka Sensei frowned, but understanding that I needed space, he went to the other side of the statue, presumably to pray to his parents. Sitting down, I placed down and lit a candle, before lowering my head and closing my eyes to pray as well.

 **"Naruto..."** Scrunching my eyes, I tried to ignore the voice that I knew belonged to the Ninetails. **"** **Naruto, open your eyes."** The voice went on, and I sighed, opening my eyes, only to find myself inside my mind scape, which now consisted of a lush forest, Ninetails lying on a flat stone in the center, looking at me through one half open eye. The cage that Ninetails had previously been in was now gone. Looking around, I couldn't help but remember back to when I changed it from what it had previously been.

 _Flashback_

Opening my eyes, I found myself in the darkness of the tunnels that were in my mind scape. Actually meaning to be here for once, I smiled, making my way towards where I knew the Ninetails was. After walking for a few minutes, I finally made it to a large open room, the cage holding the giant fox now in front of me. Sensing my chakra, the fox opened one large red eye. **"Ah, if it isn't the brat... What are you doing here, kit? Don't tell me you're here to try and take more chakra from me!"** Ninetails said, and I grinned.

"Ha! You can't call me a kit anymore, I just turned eighteen; I'm officially an adult!" I said, and he just snorted, closing his eyes once again.

 **"Please... With how long I've been alive, you're all kits compared to me. Anyways, what are you doing here? You are obviously not here for chakra, or you would have already tried something..."** He said, and I frowned slightly, grumbling at being dismissed like that. A few seconds later, I grinned again.

"The Pervy Sage taught me a new jutsu since I just turned eighteen!" I said, and Ninetails once again opened an eye. "Think of a place that would make you happy!" I said, excited at the concept of trying out this new jutsu. Ninetails slowly sat up, opening his other eye, before a dark look crossed his face.

 **"A place that would make me happy... That's easy. The Hidden Leaf... Crushed beneath me!"** He growled, a violent glow in his eyes. Gulping, I sweatdropped, before beginning to form the hand signs needed for this jutsu.

"You really are a violent guy, you know?" I asked, and he snorted, glaring at me. "Anyways, lush forest it is!" I said, pressing my hands against the bars. With a sudden flash of bright light, the bars of the cage began to sink into the ground, and along with them, the cage began to disappear. In their place, trees started growing out of the floor, which was now covered with dirt and grass. Ninetails looked around in confusion, slowly raising higher as a flat stone rose out of the ground. After a few seconds, he began to laugh darkly.

 **"Fool! You just got rid of the only thing keeping me from killing you right here!"** He said, rising to his full height. I stood my ground and smiled up at him. He looked down at me in confusion. **"You really are a fool, aren't you? I just threatened to kill you, yet you stand there and smile at me like that!"** He said, and I shook my head.

"You won't kill me. Or what I should say is that you can't. You'd die as well, since you're sealed inside of me!" I said, and he looked at me in rage. "That's right. The Pervy Sage told me all about that!" I said.

 **"You brat! I may not be able to kill you, but I can still take over your body and destroy The Hidden Leaf that way! The seal is gone!"** Ninetails yelled, and I shook my head.

"No you can't, look around at the trees." I said, and he looked around, his eyes filling with more rage when he saw the kanji for 'seal' etched into the trunks of the trees. With a sigh, he sank back down, lying himself down on the stone.

 **"Clever... So, what even was the purpose of all this?"** He asked, and I leaned against one of the trees.

"Honestly, you spent eighteen years locked away behind bars; I thought you'd like the little bit of freedom I was able to give you. Plus, I thought that it might take care of a bit of that hate that you have." I said, and he snorted.

 **"If you actually thought that this would change anything, than you are naive, and still truly a kit!"** He said, before continuing on. **"Though I do suppose you have earned the right to know my true title. I am not named Fox, nor is my name Ninetails! I am Kurama; _Queen_ of the Bijus!" **Ninetails said with pride. I chuckled, rolling my eyes.

"Oh please, with the way you are always calling me brat and kit, why would I ever-" I started, before what she had said hit me. "Wait... Queen?! Y-you're female?! B-but... You-"

 **"Don't sound or look female?"** _She_ asked, and I gulped, nodding. **"This is your mind scape, I sound and appear however you imagine me to."** She said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"You mean that if I think of you as feminine, you'll look and sound that way?" I asked, and she nodded, though she looked at me warily. Closing my eyes, I began to imagine her voice sounding softer and smoother; The complete opposite of what it was currently. Next, I pictured her quite a bit smaller than she originally was, as well as imagine her as close to a vixen as I could. Keeping my eyes scrunched shut for a bit longer, I heard a gasp from in front of me.

"Wow! You've always said how the old man was a pervert, but I never would have thought you were just as perverted!" A voice said, and I raised an eyebrow in confusion, before opening my eyes. As soon as I did, I nearly fell over, as in front of me, there no longer was a giant fox in front of me, but something that caused my jaw to drop.

"W-what the hell, you stupid fox!? I-I didn't picture you like that!" I screamed, taking a few steps back. She almost looked human, standing in front of me on two legs. However, a few of her features seemed to carry over from her fox form, like her muzzle, ears, and tails. She also kept her fur, which covered her completely from head to toe.

"What's the matter, Naruto? Don't you like this form?" She asked with a look of mock sadness, following me and pressing her chest against mine, a black bra and panties the only thing covering her. Jumping back, I glared at her.

"O-of course not!" I said, looking away, and she snickered.

"Yeah, well some part of you obviously does!" She said, pointing at my crotch and laughing, and I glared at her. "Did you honestly think that you could change me in any way? I may be trapped inside your mind, but that doesn't mean I'm a part of it!" She said, and I sighed, turning around and beginning to walk away.

"Last time I ever try to help you in any way..." I mumbled, getting ready to enter the tunnel again. Taking one last look back at her, I saw what I could only describe as a bit of fondness in her eyes, before shaking my head. There was no way the Ninetails could ever feel fondness for anything.

 _End of flashback_

Looking at the fox, I couldn't help but sigh. "What do you want? And what's with that voice? You've already proven that you're female!" I said, and she slowly sat up.

"Why are you in that dump?" She asked, and I looked at her in a mixture of confusion and anger.

"What are you talking about? If you mean the cemetery, then you're wrong! It's not a dump, it's a place we lay our friends and families to rest!" I said, and she snorted.

"You dump their bodies in the ground, and leave them to rot. That is the definition of a _dump_. And again I ask, why are you here? None of these people were your friends, and you've lived alone all these years." She said, and whether or not she meant to or not, she struck a nerve. Frowning slightly, I sighed.

"Hey... Kurama?" I asked, and she looked at me in surprise. "I know nineteen years ago you were being controlled by that masked man, but did you actually mean to attack the Hidden Leaf?" I asked and the look of surprise in her eyes turned to stubborn pride.

"Of course I did! I am the Ninetails! Nothing I've done was an accident!" She yelled, and I sighed.

"Good to know, I guess." I said, and she looked at me in confusion when I showed no anger. "If that's all you wanted me here for, I guess I'll be going. I do have missions that I go on, and I need my rest." I said, turning around and beginning to walk away, when a large fist landed in front of me, blocking my way.

"What's the matter Naruto, have I struck a nerve? Where's your anger?" She asked, her eyes turning to slits. Jumping on top of her fist, I paused for a few seconds, before jumping down.

"You don't really need to know..." I said, before continuing into the tunnels, leaving the fox alone. Opening my eyes, I once again found myself in front of the statue in the cemetery. Looking around, I noticed that everyone who was visiting the cemetery before were gone, and it looked pretty late. Standing up and stretching, I left, walking down the quiet streets. Looking over to the Hokage's office, I saw that the lights were still on. Deciding to stop by, I made my way over to the building belonging to the Hokage. Entering the front door, I walked through the hallways, before knocking on Granny Tsunade's door. A few seconds later, the door opened, and a shorter woman with black hair answered, looking at me in surprise. "Hey Shizune, is Granny Tsunade here?" I asked, and she gave me an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, but she has a lot of paperwork to do. Is there any way you could come back-" She began before a voice from inside interrupted her, and I recognized the voice as Granny Tsunade.

"Shizune! Who's at the door?" Granny Tsunade asked, and Shizune flinched slightly.

"It's Naruto, my lady. I was just asking him if he could come back later, as you are busy right now." She said.

"Naruto? Send him in, Shizune." Granny Tsunade said, and Shizune frowned.

"But my lady, w-what about your-"

"Shizune!" Granny Tsunade interrupted, and Shizune sighed, opening the door to let me in. Giving her an apologetic look, I walked inside, seeing the Hokage behind her desk. "So, what are you doing up at this hour? What can I do for you, Naruto?" She asked, and I stayed silent for a few seconds, before sighing.

"Do you have any records on my parents? Like who they were?" I asked. Her eyes widened, and her quill fell from her hand. Seeing this, I sighed. "Not you too... Every time I ask who my parents were, people always seem to dodge the question." I said, and she sat in silence for a few minutes, before frowning.

I'm sorry Naruto, but I'm afraid that information has been sealed away." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Sealed away? What do you mean?" I asked, and she sighed, resting her elbows on her desk and steepling her hands in thought.

"The Third Hokage apparently had those records sealed away, only to be opened when you are truly ready for that information. This was requested by your father himself, right before he died." She said, and my shoulders sagged.

"I don't understand... I'm nineteen, don't you think I'm ready enough to know who my parents are?" I asked, and she frowned.

"Trust me Naruto, if it was up to me, I would give you that information. After all you've done, I believe that you deserve to know, but I don't have the files to give you. Those files reside with the village elders. They are the ones who decide when you are ready." She said.

"I... I see. So, am I just supposed to sit back and wait patiently for them to decide I should know? You and I both know that that won't happen. In their eyes, no matter what I do, I will always be the kid with the Ninetails locked up inside him!" I said, and she gave me a comforting look.

"Whatever happened to the boy who was always striving to be the next Hokage? Look, I'll talk to them and see about getting you those files, why don't you go home and get some rest, you're obviously under quite a bit of stress." She said, and I shrugged, not really holding out much hope on getting the information I was looking for. Without another word, I nodded, before heading out the door and heading home. Reaching my front door, I unlocked it, before stepping inside. Sitting in bed, I took out the last remaining candle and lit it, placing it on my bedside table and staring into the dimly flickering light.

"Well, nineteen years and I still don't know who you are..." I said, gently resting my hand on my stomach. "I wonder... If you were still alive when they decided to seal the Ninetails inside of me, would you have been ok with it?" I asked, before shaking my head. Probably not. Who would allow anything like that to happen to there own son? Laying down and closing my eyes, I soon drifted off to sleep. After what felt like a few minutes, I opened my eyes, expecting to awaken in bed, only to see that I was once again in my mind scape. Sighing, I stretched. "What do you want Kurama?" I asked, looking at the fox, who was sitting nearby.

"You know, Naruto, I'm still surprised that you are even calling me by my name..." She said, and I shrugged.

"Yeah, well I guess I'm just not in the mood to try and get on your nerves. So again, what is it that you want?" I asked, and she nodded, giving me an uncharacteristic smile.

"You wanted to know about your parents, didn't you?" She asked, and I looked up at her in shock.

"You know about my parents?" I asked, and she scoffed.

"Of course. Now if you want to hear it, shut up and listen. But I warn you. You may not like truth... Are you positive you want to hear it?" She asked, and I looked at her, determined.

"Nineteen years... That's how long I've lived, not even knowing their names. Of course I want to know who they were!" I said, and she nodded.

"Your mother, Kushina Uzumaki, or the 'Red-Hot Habanero' as she was called, was a fiery young woman from the now long destroyed Uzumaki Clan, brought to the Hidden Leaf because of a special chakra she possessed. Because of this special chakra, she became the second Ninetails Jinchūriki." She said, and I looked at her in shock.

"You were sealed inside my mom?" I asked, and she nodded.

"That is correct. If I had to admit, she wasn't that bad of a Jinchūriki. It was certainly easier than being trapped in the mind of a male brat." She said, before continuing. "Anyways, after being in the village for a while, the Hidden Cloud attempted to kidnap her to make it easier to harness my power. However your father, Minato Namikaze, came to her rescue." She said, spitting his name.

"Minato... Namikaze?" I asked, and she sighed, giving me a look that told me to pay attention instead of asking questions.

"Yes Naruto, yet he had other names. He was also called The Hidden Leaf's Yellow Flash, but what you may have heard him called is the Fourth Hokage..." She said, and my eyes widened. Shaking my head, I took a step back.

"N-no, you're lying!" I said, and she looked at me in confusion.

"I'm afraid I'm not, Naruto. What would I gain from lying about who your parents are?" She asked, and I clenched my fists.

"So what? Are you telling me that my parents sealed you inside of me?! Why the hell would they do that? Didn't they know how much hate I would have to go through?!" I asked, and she took a deep breath.

"To save your worthless village!" She shouted, and I froze, stunned for a few seconds. "As much as I despise being sealed away inside of you and losing half my power, I have to respect them for sacrificing themselves like they did, and you should too! After all, they put their faith of the future in you!" She said, snapping me out of my self pity. Sighing, I nodded.

"So... What was dad like? When he wasn't Hokage?" I asked, and Kurama calmed down slightly.

"Minato was a kind person when he needed to be. A lot of people looked up to him, including your Sensei Kakashi, who trained under him." She said, and I nodded, making a mental note to ask him about my dad.

"Well... Thanks I guess for telling me about my parents. I'm glad to have been able to learn who they were, but I guess I should be getting some actual sleep. I do have daily missions." I said, slowly turning around, when one of Kurama's tails wrapped around my ankle, causing me to trip and fall face first.

"And where do you think you're going? I'm not done with you yet!" She said, her voice taking on a tone I had never heard before. Groaning, I rubbed my nose and looked at her in confusion, only to see that she had turned into the form she had used to tease me when I had turned eighteen.

"What was that for?!" I asked, but she stayed silent, slowly making her way over to me, before straddling me. "W-what are you doing?" I asked, and she smirked, slipping down my pants. Finally understanding what was going on, I began to struggle. "G-get off me! W-why are you doing this?!" I shouted, trying to shake her off, but her grip on me was too strong.

"Today's your birthday, right?" She asked, and I continued struggling. "Well, think of this as my gift to you." She said, slowly working my spiral patterned boxers down my legs and grabbing my member, which was getting hard against my best efforts.

"S-stop! Please! I-I want to save my first time for-"

"That pink haired girl?" She finished for me, pausing in her movements, though she still kept her hand wrapped around me. She looked into my eyes, and I could see a bit of pity in them. "The same girl who you've chased after all your life? The one who uses you and still chases after that Sasuke brat, even though he's become a rogue ninja?" She asked, and I sighed.

"T-that's..." I began but Kurama shook her head.

"An unhealthy relationship, and you know it." She said, and I looked away. "Just relax, Naruto, and enjoy yourself." She said, going back to stroking. When she deemed me hard enough, she grinned, slowly sliding down my body until her muzzle was right above my dick. Looking up at me, she grinned again, before wrapping her muzzle around the tip. Expecting to feel sharp teeth, I scrunched my eyes shut, only to open them again when her tongue wrapped around it, and she began to suck. Without trying to, I moaned, and she smiled, letting out a noisy slurp. Losing myself in the pleasure, my hands found their way behind her head, pushing her down faster, causing her eyes to widen for a few seconds, before slowly closing, as she began to pick up speed. This continued for a few more minutes, before a pressure began to build in the pit of my stomach.

"K-Kurama...! S-something's coming!" I gasped, and she opened her eyes and looked into mine for a few seconds, before pulling away and swirling her tongue around the tip.

"That's right Naruto, let it out! I want to taste it!" She said, her words sending vibrations up my member. No longer able to hold myself back, I scrunched my eyes shut and pressed her head against me. Feeling my dick reach the back of her throat, I finally reached my release, pumping against her muzzle. She moaned, eagerly swallowing around me to avoid any of my cum from spilling. After a few seconds, when I finished, she slowly pulled away, and I fell over backwards, out of breath.

"T-there... You got what you wanted, am I able to go now?" I asked, and she chuckled, licking her lips and giving me a look that instantly made me hard once again.

"Aw, how cute... You actually think we're done." She said, causing me to look at her in tired confusion, as she slowly crawled her way up my body and looked into my eyes. "No. The truth is, we're not even close to being done! You'd better prepare yourself, because we're going until I'm satisfied!" She said, positioning herself above me, my dick poking against her entrance. She leaned down close to me, looking into my eyes. "You know, you should count yourself lucky... You're the first person in history to get to mate the Queen of the Bijus!" She said, before doing something that caught me completely off guard. Slamming herself down and taking me to the hilt, she pressed her muzzle to my lips, capturing my mouth with her own. Caught off guard, she took advantage of this by shoving her tongue into my mouth, tangling it with mine. After a few seconds, lost in the lust I felt, I wrapped my arms around her, returning the kiss. Beginning to thrust against me, she leaned back, her eyes half lidded, and her tongue hanging out.

"O-oh, you're certainly getting into this! Have you seriously forgotten about your one sided crush on that pink haired girl?" She asked, looking at me teasingly.

"J-just shut up!" I said, locking lips with her once again and flipping us onto our sides. She grunted into the kiss, wrapping her arms around me and closing her eyes. For the next couple minutes, we both fought to be the one on top. Rolling me onto my back, she grinned down at me.

"Come on Naruto, you can be rougher! Or is that the best you've got!" She teased, and I growled, tightening my grip on her with my arms, causing her to look at me in confusion.

"You want me me to be rougher? How's this!" I said, forming the hand signs for my shadow clone jutsu, calling up a single shadow clone. Looking back at it in confusion, she squealed in joy as the shadow clone took her from behind.

"Oh, YES!" She moaned, her tongue hanging out as she was taken from both sides at the same time, being sandwiched between us.

"So, is that rough enough for you?" I asked, and she leaned her head into the crook of my neck.

"C-careful, if you do that well, I may not let you go!" She said, nibbling gently on my collarbone. In retaliation, I took her left breast into my mouth and twisting her right nipple. Suddenly, she let out a loud moan, and her pussy began to ripple around me, my crotch becoming soaked. Pausing, I looked at her in confusion.

"Did you just..." I began, and she glared at me, before looking away.

"S-shut up! J-just keep going..." She said, looking uncharacteristically embarrassed. Deciding to go a lot slower, I dispelled my shadow clone, nearly cumming right there as the pleasure my clone was feeling was transferred to me. Feeling the sudden emptiness, she groaned, but before she could complain, I brought her into a kiss, groping her breasts and tweaking her nipples, continuing to pump into her at a slow pace, causing her to moan. After a few minutes, that tightness in the pit of my stomach began to return, and I began to pant slightly, trying to hold out longer. Seemingly sensing that I was getting closer, she met my eyes with half lidded ones. "What, are you about to cum?" She asked, and I nodded, clenching my eyes shut.

"Then go ahead... Cum." She said, whispering in my ear, before nibbling it. Grunting, I pumped for a few more seconds, before she locked her legs around my back and I finally reached my end. Thrusting in as deep as I could go, Kurama moaned as I came, and her twitching tunnel milked me for everything I had, her walls quickly being painted white. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me close. A few seconds later, I sighed as my member started to soften inside of her, before slipping out; A trail of cum slowly dribbling out behind it.

"How was that? Are you satisfied now?" I asked, with a cocky grin, only to be met with silence. Curious, I looked up, only to see that her eyes were closed, and she was asleep. Scoffing, I rolled my eyes. Letting out a yawn of my own, I relaxed. I couldn't move, or I would risk waking her up, and possibly have to go again. Laying my head on the ground, I prepared to go to sleep. As I closed my eyes and drifted off, I could swear I saw two figures standing nearby, one, a guy with blonde hair, and the other, a woman with bright red hair. The guy looked shocked by what he saw, while the woman smiled, a look of acceptance on her face. When I looked again, they were gone. Shrugging, I closed my eyes again and fell asleep, Kurama's head, nestled against my neck.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everybody. before I begin, I just want to take the time to thank you all. When I uploaded 'A Birthday to Remember', I was fully expecting to get a lot of hate from the fans of the Naruto series who like things to be canon. So when my gmail account was bombarded with notices of favorites and follows, I was shocked. Keep in mind, this was meant to be a oneshot, but I forgot to tick the 'completed' box. However, since you all seemed to enjoy it, I decided to make another chapter. So without further ado, let the chapter begin!**

 _Naruto's POV_

Hearing the young ninjas in training making their way to the Academy for their morning classes, I slowly opened my eyes and yawned, letting my eyes adjust to the morning light currently filling my room. Stretching, I winced as I was filled with a deep ache. Rubbing my back, I remembered my dream from last night. Standing up, I closed my eyes and leaned back, sighing in content as my back let out a loud pop. For just being a dream, I sure did feel weary, as if Kurama and I had really... Shaking my head to clear the thought away, I made my way to the drawer where I kept my cups of instant ramen. There was no way Kurama and I had did any of that last night. As far back as I could remember, the Ninetails had always hated me, so showing any sexual feelings towards me was ridiculous. Not only that, but the idea that my father was the Fourth Hokage... I chuckled to myself. I should really cut down on the ramen if that's what my mind thinks up. After the ramen finished and cooled down, I picked it up and headed to sit down on my bed. Turning towards the bed, I froze, the cup of noodles falling from my grasp, and my eyes widening at what I saw.

"Heh, it's about time. I was wondering when you'd notice me here!" A voice said, and I could only stare in shock. Laying in bed, wrapped up in the blankets, was Kurama; Still in her half fox, half human form, as well as in her black bra and panties. She looked at me with a grin, looking quite amused at my shock. Taking advantage of my paralyzed state, she slowly got out of bed and walked over to me, wrapping me with an arm and a tail, while slowly sliding her finger in circles around my chest. "What? You didn't think you could mate with the Queen of the Bijus and run, _did you_?" She asked, leaning down and whispering in my ear. Regaining my ability to move again, I leaped back, causing her to pout slightly.

"K-Kurama! W-what are you doing here?! I thought that was just a dream! A-actually, scratch that, _how_ are you here?! The seal should have kept you from escaping!" I demanded, and she chuckled.

"Oh, it was all too real, and may I just say, it felt _wonderful_." She said, licking her muzzle. "As for how I escaped, that's easy... I simply had to manipulate your hand while you slept to get you to release the seal on your stomach with some of my chakra. You know, you really shouldn't have fallen asleep so close to me like you did!" She smirked, and I paled, running to the mirror and lifting my shirt. Looking at the seal, I immediately saw that the spiral was gone; Instead being replaced by a large black circle, showing that the seal had indeed been released. Gulping, I slowly turned towards Kurama.

"S-so now that you're free, I assume you plan to destroy the village?" I asked, realizing that she could go on a rampage at any moment. Seeing my nervousness, she rolled her eyes.

"Relax, I no longer wish to destroy the Hidden Leaf. I couldn't even if I wanted to..." She said, mumbling the last part under her breath.

"What?" I asked, looking at her in confusion, and she sighed.

"Sure, I may have been freed from the seal, but it still took a considerable amount of my chakra to free myself, and it has weakened me a bit. I currently don't have enough power to even try to destroy the village." She said, and I relaxed, before she continued. "However! Don't think I'm powerless. I still have enough chakra to kill anyone who tries anything!" She said, and I stiffened once again.

"So... If you aren't planning to destroy the village, what are you going to do?" I asked, and she grinned, giving me a look that was oozing sexuality.

"Didn't I make it clear to you that you wouldn't be getting rid of me that easily? I'm sticking with you. And who knows, maybe if I'm feeling generous, I might even show you some _pleasure_." She said, giving me a lecherous look. Eyes widening, I shook my head.

"What?! You can't stay with me!" I said, and she raised a brow at me inquisitively.

"Oh? And why, pray tell, is that?" She asked, feigning interest, and I sighed.

"All my life, I've been ridiculed and hated because of you. If people discovered that you were free, they'd hate me even more for 'letting you loose'. Don't you think I've been through enough already?!" I snapped, and she blinked, before shrugging.

"If being ostracized by your village bothers you so much, why don't you just leave? Why stay with the people who treat you like an outsider?" She asked, and I paused, before looking down.

"I was born in this village, I belong here. Plus, I do have friends who I'd miss. And anyways, if I let those people get to me, and I leave the village, I wouldn't be a true shinobi." I said, and Kurama shook her head in disgust.

"They really have you brainwashed, don't they?" She asked, and I looked at her in confusion. "A shinobi never cries; A shinobi's emotions are weaknesses. If you ask me, that's a bunch of bullshit! If you don't weep for a fallen comrade; If you don't accept your emotions, are you even human? As for these so called friends... Did any of them wish you a happy birthday? It seems to me that your 'friends' avoid you too on that day." She said, and I stayed silent. Instead of answering, I picked up the wasted cup of noodles, before throwing them in the trash and getting another. The whole time, she watched my every move. "What are you doing?" She asked, as I poured the water into the new cup.

"I'm making myself some more ramen, since you made me drop my last cup!" I said, and she looked at it in confusion.

"Ramen?" She asked, and I looked at her in surprise, before realizing she may have never had it before.

"Right... You've been locked away. Here, try some." I said, sighing and holding out the cup for her. She looked down at it for a few seconds, before scoffing.

"Hmph! Like I'd eat this human slop!" She said, turning her head. Rolling my eyes, I continued to hold the cup.

"Oh, just shut up and try it!" I snapped, and she actually looked surprised for a second. "You said that you were planning on sticking with me, right? As much as I don't want you to, there's not many other options without you being seen. Well, if you're going to be staying with me, you better get used to ramen, because that's the only food I buy!" I said, and she shrugged.

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I don't require food to survive!" She said, closing her eyes and nodding, looking pretty proud, only to be interrupted a few seconds later by a loud growl from her stomach. Opening her eyes, she placed a hand on her stomach, looking confused. "Huh, well that's new." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"What is? Hunger? Don't all living things get hungry?" I asked, and she frowned.

"That's just it. I'm a demon. I shouldn't _get_ hungry." She said, and I shook the cup slightly, gaining her attention. Sighing in disdain, she grabbed it.

"Hey, maybe this means you're no longer a demon!" I said teasingly, and she glared at me, taking an experimental bite. Eyes lighting up, she began to scarf down the noodles. Sighing, I opened the drawer to get more ramen, only to groan when my hand came back empty. "Aw man, that was my last ramen!" I said, before sighing, getting dressed in my orange and black jacket, as well as a pair of sweats. Finishing the food she had previously called slop, Kurama sighed in content, before noticing me.

"What are you doing now?" She asked, and I watched in irritation as she tossed the empty styrofoam cup on the floor.

"That was my last cup of ramen, now I have to go out and pick up some more." I said, and she stretched, before walking towards the door.

"Good. I guess I could use this as a chance to stretch my legs!" She said. Getting in front of her, I held her back, standing in front of the door.

"Oh, no you don't! You can't leave here right now, you'd cause a panic!" I said, and she blinked, an uncaring look on her face.

"So? I should care why?" She asked, and I glared at her.

"If you cause everyone to panic, the ANBU will be called! And as much as you maly love chaos, I'm sure you don't want them called on you, and neither do I!" I said, and she fell silent, looking away in frustration. "Just... Wait here, I'll be back." I said, and without waiting for an answer, I walked out the door, shutting it securely behind me. Walking into town, I made my way to the convenience store. Walking through the door, I was greeted by the man behind the register.

"Hey, if it isn't Naruto! You here to pick up more ramen?" He asked, and I just nodded. Looking away, I rolled my eyes. Sure, you're being nice now, yet just yesterday, you were all looking at me with distrust. Picking up a basket, I went down an isle, placing a few packages of ramen in the basket. Paying the cashier, I exited the store, before looking in my wallet. Deciding to make one more stop, I decided to head for the clothes store to pick up some new clothes for Kurama. After all, she wasn't going to be running around my house in her undergarments. Suddenly, someone called for me, catching my attention. Turning around, I saw a girl about my age, with short red hair, running towards me.

"Naruto, there you are!" She said, as she caught up to me. Looking at her in confusion for a few seconds, my eyes widened when I recognized her. Looking around, I saw a few people looking our way in surprise at her loud entrance, before going back to their business. Turning back to her, I looked at her in frustration.

"Kurama?! What are you doing here? I thought I said to stay at the house!" I whispered urgently, and she shrugged, currently wearing a black T-shirt that I recognized as mine, as well as another pair of my sweatpants.

"Eh, you were taking too long, so I decided to come and find you." She said, before looking at the bag in my hands. "I see you got your ramen. Where are you going now?" She asked, and I looked at her for a few seconds. She sure seems to be being clingy. Sighing, I gave up.

"I was heading to the clothes store to pick up some new clothes for you. I don't want you walking around me naked." I said quietly, and she pouted slightly.

"Aw, come on, you know you love it!" She said teasingly, and I continued walking. Sighing when she realized I wasn't changing my mind, she continued walking at my side as we walked down the street. As we walked by the bar, someone called, and I recognized the voice. Turning to look, I saw the Pervy Sage sitting on a stool, his arm around a woman on his left.

"Hey kid, who's your friend?" He said, giving me a wink, and I sighed, coming to a stop.

"Oh, uh, hey Pervy Sage. This is Kurama... I met her yesterday." I lied, and his grin slowly began to disappear.

"Kurama, huh..." He said to himself, before turning to the woman next to him and giving her a smile. "Excuse me, but I need to talk to my student for a bit." He said, placing some money down on the counter to pay for his drink, as well as some extra money to pay for her drink, before getting up and walking over to us. "Follow me." He said, walking in the direction of the front gate without waiting for us to answer. Looking at Kurama, I gave a shrug, before following. Eventually, after leading us to a quiet training ground, Pervy Sage sighed. "Right... You can drop that transformation jutsu now, we're out of the public view." He said, without turning around. My eyes widened, while Kurama grinned, releasing her human guise with a hand sign.

"I'm impressed you could see through my disguise, though, I guess you aren't one of the three legendary Sannin for nothing!" She said, leaning against a tree.

"Please, I didn't even have to try. Your name was enough to tip me off, after all, you were originally locked inside Kushina, so I made sure to learn all I could about you." He said, before turning to look at me, his eyes cold. "As for you Naruto, I have never been more disappointed in you. How could you release the seal and put the village in danger like that, have you no sense at all?!" He asked, anger in his voice. Kurama's grin faded, and she stood up, walking over to him.

"Hey, watch it you old codger! With the way everyone has treated Naruto, you should be proud of the fact he hasn't torn that seal off before! As for your little village, I have no intention of destroying it. You on the other hand; I don't like you; I have no problem killing you." She said, and I looked at her in surprise at her sticking up for me. Pervy Sage looked from Kurama to me, before grinning.

"You've really fallen hard haven't you?" He asked, looking at her, and she glared at him.

"Shut it!" She growled, gritting her teeth. Turning to me, he gestured to me.

"Naruto, come over here and raise your shirt." He said, and I looked at him in confusion for a few seconds, though I still did what he said.

"You already know the seal has been undone though." I said, and he sighed.

"I know, but I'm not interested in the seal, now turn around and lift your shirt." He said, and I frowned, before doing as I was told. A few seconds later, he turned to Kurama. "Just as I thought, you even marked him! Tell me, have you been feeling strange? Maybe feeling like something is different?" He asked, and she looked away, grinding her teeth. Confused, I looked at him in confusion.

"Marked?" I asked, and he pointed at Kurama.

"Ask her, she's the one that marked you. However, right now, I'm afraid you have to leave." He said, and I looked at him in confusion.

"Leave? What do you mean?" I asked, and his gaze went cold once again.

"The village... You have to leave the village. As long as the kyuubi is free of the seal, you can't stay in the village, and currently, there is no way to reseal her." He said, turning his back on me and facing the village. Eyes widening, I looked at him in shock.

"W-wait... Exile? But I was born here, where else am I supposed to go?!" I demanded, and he shook his head.

"Be glad that's what I'm suggesting. Anyone else would have branded you a traitor and locked you both up, but your father wouldn't have wanted that. I suggest you go back home and pack up the necessities you'll need, then leave." He said, before heading back to the village. Watching him go, I stood there in silence for what felt like hours, before I was finally able to get my legs to move. Kurama in her human guise, we walked back to my now old house, her being uncharacteristically quiet. Opening my door, I entered slowly. Passing by my mirror, I paused, before lifting my shirt and looking over my shoulder at my back. Seeing the large symbol, I couldn't help but stare. On my back, there was a large red design resembling that of the head of a fox, with nine flaming tails behind it. Seeing the blank look on my face, Kurama sighed.

"Would you like me to explain it?" She asked, her voice soft; Free of her normal teasing. Without looking away from the mirror, I nodded.

"Knowing more about why I am being exiled would be good." I said, and she frowned, before taking a deep breath.

"It's called a mate mark. It's something all Bijus are capable of giving to their Jinchūriki hosts. It is a sign that the Bijus and their Jinchūriki host have formed a... _special_ kind of bond. Think of it as a contract of sorts. Now, depending on the power of the Biju, they can use this mark to escape from their host, at the cost of most of their power. In other words, they become... Alive." She said, and I nodded.

"You mean like needing food?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Exactly! Basically we sacrifice our demonic forms for a more earthly form in order to gain freedom. What we do with said freedom is up to us, whether we decide to stay with our new partner, or get rid of the mark and go our separate ways..." She said, and I turned to look at her.

"Wait. So you could get rid of the mark?" I asked, and she hesitated for a few seconds, before frowning.

"I could. If you wanted, I could get rid of the mark for you, and we could go our separate ways. Is that what you want?" She asked, and I thought for a few seconds.

"What else is the mark for? What does it do?" I asked, and she sat down on the bed.

"It lets others know that we are mates. It also links us together, body and soul." She said, and upon seeing my confusion, she elaborated. "In other words, only I could bring you to pleasure, and likewise, only _you_ could pleasure _me_." She said, before giving me time to digest this information. "So... Is that something you'd be interested in, or would you rather me remove the mark?" She asked, and I sighed, finally stepping away from the mirror.

"You know, I should really count myself lucky..." I said, and she looked at me in confusion. "Not the being exiled thing, but the fact that there's a girl actually interested in me. Not only that, but she knows all about me." I said, and she tilted her head slightly.

"Does that mean you're keeping the mark?" She asked, actually looking hopeful.

"I might as well. I mean, even if the mark was removed, it still wouldn't change the fact that I've been exiled." I said, and she surprised me by bringing me into a hug. Shocked by the sudden act, I awkwardly wrapped my arms around her. "So, is there anything special that needs to be done to make it official?" I asked, and she shook her head, still embracing me.

"Nope. The mark takes care of everything. Unless you count consummating things..." She said, her voice once again dripping with desire. Separating from her and causing her to pout, I reached under my bed, pulling out the suitcase I always brought with me when I went on long missions, and began to pack up my things.

"Right... Well that can wait. First we'd need to find a new place to stay." I said, and she sighed, beginning to help me pack up. When we finished, and the room was now looking clean, I forced the bag closed, and began wheeling it towards the door. Passing by the mirror, I once again paused, this time looking at my headband. Frowning, I took it off, flipping it around in my hand a few times, before tossing it on my bed. Eyes widening, Kurama ran over to the bed and picked the headband up, looking at me in shock.

"Naruto! Wasn't the proudest moment of your life when you became a ninja? This headband was proof of that moment! I know you're upset about all that's happened, but are you really going to get rid of this that easily?" She asked, bringing it back and setting it in my hand, and I sighed.

"You're right. But I can't wear this... I'm no longer a Leaf Shinobi." I said, placing it in my bag. She frowned slightly, but didn't say anything. "Let's go now." I said, taking one last look at my house, before turning around and walking towards the gate. As we made it to the gate, someone called me, and I turned around, only to recognize the pink haired girl running up to us. Beside me, Kurama tensed up slightly.

"Naruto!" Sakura called, before coming to a stop in front of us, catching her breath. "Are you going on a mission or something? Where's the rest of your squad?" She asked, and I sighed.

"Oh, hey Sakura. I'm leaving..." I said, and she blinked.

"I get that, but what time do you think you'll be getting back? The others and I felt bad for not being there on your birthday yesterday, and we were planning a little celebration for you today." She said, and I frowned, shaking my head.

"I'm not coming back." I said, and she looked at me in confusion, which slowly turned to shock as I continued. "The seal containing the Ninetails has been undone, and I've been exiled by the Pervy Sage." I said, and Sakura looked at me with wide eyes, before shaking her head.

"T-there has to be some kind of mistake! Does Lady Tsunade know about this? I'm sure if you talk to her about it, you could-" She started, but I shook my head.

"Stay? No. I'd just get even more hate from the village. Just tell the others I said goodbye, ok?" I said, before turning around and walking out the front gate, Sakura watching in shock. As we walked far enough away from the village and entered the woods, Kurama dropped her guise, returning to her fox like form.

"So... Where do we go now?" She asked, and I sighed, thinking to myself as we jumped from branch to branch.

"Well, there's one place I know where we might be able to stay for at least a night." I said, and she looked at me in silence for a few seconds, before shrugging, following me. Making up my mind, we began to head West, towards a friend I knew we could trust.

 **Hello again everyone, I just wanted to make a few quick notes. First of all, for those of you who like this story, halfway through writing this chapter, I decided to continue more with it, which is why I left this chapter with an open ending. Keep in mind, the first chapter was originally going to be a standalone chapter. So if you don't like this chapter, the first one could be taken as a oneshot. Second of all, the idea itself of the 'mate mark' is not mine. I have seen quite a few writers using that concept. I only expanded on the idea with what I hope was an original concept of my own. The design of the 'mate mark' that I pictured in my head while writing this can be found as the new title picture. (Copyrights will be in the description)**

 **~spudbud16**


	3. Chapter 3

_Naruto's POV_

Jumping from branch to branch, Kurama and I traveled West, the hidden leaf village quickly getting farther and farther behind us, an hour having passed since we had set out. Every few minutes, she would look over at me, a frown on her face. "Hey Naruto, how you feeling?" She asked, and I was once again reminded that the previously fierce fox demon was now free, and surprisingly, worried about me. Sighing, I shook my head, keeping my eyes forward.

"I don't know. Lost, I guess. I never would have expected getting exiled like this. Ever since I became a ninja, I put my all into protecting the village and completing missions, even while being disrespected by the other villagers. But in the end, I guess it didn't even matter." I said, and she frowned slightly.

"I guess you must hate me, at least a little, right? After all, I did get you thrown out of your home." She said, and I remained quiet for a minute, before letting out a sigh.

"I still have the 'mate mark', even though you offered me the chance to get rid of it, right? That should be proof enough that I don't hate you." I said, and she nodded, looking away and trying to hide a look of relief. "Though I do find it amusing in some depressing way. If you would have just stayed home and waited for me to get back, we may still be in the village." I said, and she flinched.

"Right..." She said, falling silent for a few minutes before looking back at me. "So... Where exactly are we going? You mentioned a place we could go to stay at least a night, but you never said where." She said, and I looked over to her, giving her a weak smile.

"I was thinking The Hidden Sand Village." I said, and she nodded, before looking thoughtful for a few seconds.

"Wait, Isn't that where that Jinchūriki brat Gaara lives?" She asked, and I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"Do you have to call everyone a brat?" I asked, and she smiled slightly.

"Of course! Like I told you a year ago, compared to me, everyone is a kit or a brat. Don't get me wrong though, I didn't mean that as an insult. From what I know about him, which is only what you know about him, he seems like he's a decent friend." She said, and I looked at her in surprise for a few seconds.

"I believe that's the first time I've heard you talk positively about someone, you know?" I said, and she self consciously looked away. "But you're not wrong. He is a good friend. He's the only person I can really turn to right now, as he understands how hard it can be..." I said, and she nodded, once again looking ahead. Eventually, after having been traveling for nearly two hours, Kurama's ears swiveled back and twitched, and she frowned.

"Naruto..." She said, and I frowned as well, giving a nod.

"I know." I said. During my time traveling around with the Pervy Sage, I had gained quite a lot of knowledge and skills, including some sensory abilities. While I was not a sensory ninja, and couldn't quite track people, I could still tell when I was being followed, and right now, we were being followed. Focusing hard, I could sense at least four shinobi, and by the feel of it, they were gaining on us. Looking around, I spotted a clearing a little farther ahead. "Let's head for that clearing, we'll confront them there." I said, and Kurama looked at me in surprise.

"Confront them? Not that I don't like some good violence, but shouldn't we avoid a fight until we get some medical supplies? The Uzumaki might have been known for their strong recovery abilities, but we still should avoid fighting for right now. Keep in mind, I'm no longer locked inside of you, so I can no longer heal you either!" She said, and I smiled.

"Relax. If it's ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village, there won't be a fight; We're too close to the border. A fight could cause a war between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind, and The Hidden Leaf knows that." I said, and Kurama looked impressed.

"Using the threat of possible war to avoid a fight... Clever. However, I do have one question. What if our pursuers aren't from the Hidden Leaf?" She asked, as we jumped down into the clearing, preparing to meet face to face with the ninjas shadowing us.

"Well, I have no doubts in my training, and even without a lot of your chakra, I know you're still a force to be reckoned with, wouldn't you agree? And anyways, I'm sure I could explain what happened when we see Gaara." I said. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, the sound of rustling in the tree branches got closer, and we faced the trees. To my surprise, besides two ANBU, the two people I would never expect hopped down next to the two masked figures. "Kakashi-Sensei, Lady Tsunade..." I said. Kurama smirked, looking at the Hokage.

"Wow... We must be very important if the Hokage herself left the safety of her office." She said, her smirk widening when the ANBU took a collective step forward, their hands resting on the sheathed swords attached to their backs.

"You know, I have no problem fighting in self defence, but look around. Is it really a good idea to fight this close to the border?" I asked, my hand near my kunai pouch in case a fight did break out. Tsunade's eyes narrowed, and she raised a hand to signal the ANBU to remain still, before she took a step forward.

"Naruto. There's no need for this. Sakura told me that Jeriah exiled you from the village, and I had a long talk with him about that. He had no right to make that decision. You are free to come back to the village. In fact, I also had a chance to talk to the village elders about unsealing your parents records, and after a lot of consideration, they agreed. I'll tell you what. If you come back to the village, I will personally hand you their records, deal?" She asked, looking at me confidently, as if she was sure she had won me over. I just looked at her blankly for a few seconds, before sighing.

"Minato Namikaze; The Yellow Flash of The Leaf. Kushina Uzumaki; The Red-Hot Habanero." I said, and Tsunade's eyes widened, as well as Kakashi's; Who had taken a few steps forward to stand beside the Hokage, his Sharingan uncovered and trained on Kurama.

"H-how did you learn that?! That information was classified!" She said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Kurama actually cared enough to tell me the truth." I said, and Tsunade blinked in shock, before composing herself.

"Ok, so you know who your parents were, but what about your dream? Isn't your dream to become Hokage? Well that can't happen if you don't come back to the village. Are you willing to just abandon your dream?" She asked, and I actually chuckled, much to her confusion.

" _One day, I'm going to be Hokage! Then, everyone will look up to me and respect me!_ " I said, mimicking my previous self, and Tsunade nodded. "I was such an idiot for thinking that way!" I said, and everyone looked at me in shock, including Kurama. "Why would I ever think that people would just magically respect me just because I was Hokage? No. I'm not returning to the village. You're free to try and take me back by force, but only if you're willing to risk a war between the two feudal lands." I said, and Tsunade sighed.

"Last chance, Naruto. Return to the village, and I will make sure that you and... Kurama are safe. If you don't, your exile will be made official. If you are seen near the village, you will be considered an enemy. I don't want to have to do this, but I will if I have to. Either your loyalties lie with the village, or they don't." She said, and I scoffed.

"Please! You wouldn't be able to keep your word about safety. If you tried, you'd be ousted as Hokage for 'putting the village in danger'. I'll take my chances." I said, and she frowned, before turning away.

"Very well, have it your way. The ninjas of the Hidden Leaf Village will be told to attack on sight. From this day on, you are not a ninja of the Hidden Leaf, but a rogue ninja!" She said, before gesturing for the others to follow her. The two ANBU looked at each other for a few seconds, before leaping after her into the branches of the trees. Only Kakashi stuck around, looking between us with his Sharingan, before covering it again.

"Naruto..." He said, and I sighed.

"What? Are you going to try and get me to return or-"

"Here, these are for you." He said, holding out a kunai with a wooden handle, and a scroll of some kind.

"What are those?" I asked, looking at him, before looking at his outstretched hands hesitantly. He sighed, continuing to hold them out.

"The kunai was a gift from my sensei; Your father. He gave it to me when I became a Jōnin, and I've kept it since. I was planning on passing it to you when _you_ became a Jōnin, but it looks like the time to give it to you has come early." He said, and I hesitantly walked forward and grabbed it, nearly dropping it in surprise at the weight. "I know, it's heavier than usual, but that brings me to the scroll. This scroll contains the jutsu that gave your father the name 'The Yellow Flash of The Leaf'." He said, and Kurama looked interested.

"You mean the Flying Raijin Technique?" She asked, and he looked momentarily surprised.

"...Yes. Even though the Second Hokage was the one who created the technique, Minato-Sensei was able to improve it, and add his own variations to it." He said, passing me the sealed scroll. "He always meant for you to get this scroll and learn the technique so you could continue his legacy and protect the village. I guess you just got it too late. Anyways, I should catch up to Tsunade and the others before they start wondering where I am. Listen, I really am sorry to see you go, but I'm not going to try to stop you. If you believe this is the right path, then take it. Where that path may lead, I don't know. All I do know, is that everything happens for a reason." He said, before turning and getting ready to leap into the trees.

"Hey, Kakashi-Sensei?" I asked, and he paused, looking back questioningly. "Thank you... For these, and for teaching me a lot of what I know. Do you think you can do me a favor? Can you tell the others I'm sorry for not exactly saying good bye? Especially Konohamaru. Tell him I said to train hard, and I better hear that he became Hokage one day! Also tell Iruka-Sensei that I'm thankful for him believing in me." I said, and Kakashi-Sensei looked at me for a few seconds, before nodding, smiling under his mask; Visible eye closed.

"Will do, Naruto, and good luck." He said, before taking off into the trees. Watching him leave view, I sighed, putting the jutsu scroll in my pack, and my father's kunai in my kunai pouch, before turning in the opposite direction and facing the border; Beginning to walk, as the trees began thinning out a little farther ahead.

"Well, let's get going." I said, and she nodded, smiling to herself reassuringly. Looking sideways at her, I looked at her in confusion. "What are you smiling about?" I asked, and she just kept smiling.

"Oh, nothing. Just... I was beginning to worry about you, that's all. The way you were so willing to leave behind your headband this morning, and the way you seemed to so easily give up your dream, I was worried that you may have been giving up; That you had lost what makes you who you are. But with how much you seemed to care about the others just now, that shows that you are still your old self!" She said, and I remained quiet. After a few seconds of silence, she frowned. "Am I wrong?" She asked, now looking worried.

"I don't know, you may have been right. If I'm no longer Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf, who am I?" I asked, and she looked at me in shock for a few seconds, before rolling her eyes.

"Oh, come on! Are you actually questioning who you are? Do you even need to?" She asked, and I looked at her in confusion. "You may not be Naruto Uzumaki of the Leaf, but you are Naruto Uzumaki; One of the remaining few who have the proud Uzumaki lineage running through their veins! You are Naruto Uzumaki; Son of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki; Something you should be proud of! You are Naruto Uzumaki; The one who showed me kindness even after all the shit I put you through... Last but not least, and you should feel _honored_." She said, giving me a nudge. "You are Naruto Uzumaki... Mate of Kurama; Queen of The Bijus." She said, and I looked at her for a few seconds before rolling my eyes and chuckling.

"Oh of course, your majesty; I feel _so_ honored!" I said sarcastically, giving her an exaggerated bow, and she chuckled as well. Feeling a bit better, I gave her a weak smile. "Thanks." I said honestly, and she looked over at me as we walked. "I guess sometimes I need to be reminded of the good things I have in life. Though I do still find it weird that you're being nice to me now after the way you used to be!" I said, and she quirked an eyebrow.

"Oh? Would you rather I acted aggressive like I used to?" She teased, and I quickly shook my head.

"No! I wasn't complaining, I just thought it was a bit strange, that's all." I said, and she sighed.

"When you came into your mind scape and changed the cage to a forest, I just figured you didn't really deserve all the hostility I was giving you." She said, and I nodded.

"Now that you seem less hostile, can I ask you a question? I asked, and she once again quirked an eyebrow. " Did you honestly mean to destroy the Hidden Leaf Village nineteen years ago? And this time, can you answer without your pride getting in thee way?" I asked, and she sighed, looking straight into my eyes; Not a hint of regret in her red irises.

"What do you want me to say, that I'm sorry for the attack? That I never meant to hurt anyone? Well I can't. I am- _was_ a demon. I'm not going to lie to comfort you by saying that it was all some horrible mistake. The truth of the matter is that at one point, I was set free from the masked man's control while I tore through the village. Though, putting my pride a side, I will... Apologize... For the death of your parents, as I'm sure you are still grieving for them somewhere inside." She said, forcing the word out of her mouth as if it was hard for her to say. Suddenly, she looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before snickering at whatever she was thinking about. Glaring at her, I shook my head.

"What? So now it's funny that my parents are dead?" I asked, and her eyes widened.

"N-no! I-I just thought of something funny." She said, catching her breath. "Your parents expected the seal to hold me; For me to try and attack you all the time. Yet here we are now, us having had sex and me marking you as my mate!" She said, chuckling. "I bet if they could see us now, they'd be devastated!" She said, and I blinked, thinking back to the two figures I had seen before falling asleep last night.

"I... Don't know about that." I said hesitantly, and she slowly caught her breath, before looking at me in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, and I looked away.

"You know how after both of us finished up last night, we both fell asleep?" I asked, and she nodded. "Well, I could just have been seeing things, but I could swear I saw two people standing there watching us." I said, and she looked at me for a long few seconds, before a look of realization crossed her face.

"Well... If that's not the most awkward thing; Having sex in front of your parents while they watch! I bet they were mortified!" She said, and I shook my head.

"Not really. The man just looked surprised, while the woman seemed to accept what was happening." I said, before sighing. "So, were they really my parents?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"I wouldn't be surprised. They designed the seal after all. I have no doubts that they found a way to seal part of their souls in as well so they can help if the seal ever weakened; Which it did last night when I gave you that 'mate mark'. What _does_ surprise me though is that they'd be accepting..." She said, before shrugging again. Finishing that line of conversation, we continued walking, and by the time we reached the edge of the desert, the sun began to sink, and the temperature began to drop. Looking around, I recognized this as the area we had entered the desert when we had been called to go and join the Hidden Sand Village when rumors of the Akatsuki planning an attack on them had begun to spread. Realizing that it was getting to dark to see far, I frowned.

"Follow me, we're going to need to make a camp. I know of a little cave at the edge of the desert just up ahead." I said, and she nodded, beginning to collect twigs and branches. "What are you doing?" I asked, and she paused.

"I'm collecting firewood. If we're going to be staying in a cave for the night, won't we need a fire to see?" She asked, and I nodded.

"I guess that's true, I didn't think of that." I said, before looking at her in confusion. "Wait... You know fire style?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Of course I do!" She said, looking proud. As she continued to pick up firewood, I looked at her in curiosity.

"So, as 'Queen of The Bijus', are you able to use all of the different chakra natures?" I asked, and she began to laugh, rolling her eyes.

"I wish. But no, just because I'm the Queen of Bijus doesn't mean I can do the impossible." She said, before looking thoughtful. "Well, impossible to all but Old Man Six Paths." She said, before shrugging. "Anyways, I only have wind and fire chakra natures." She said, and I nodded in understanding. "So, where's this cave?" She asked, and I pointed at an outcropping of rocks farther ahead.

"Just up ahead, we're almost there." I said, and she nodded, following me. By the time we made it to the small cave, the full moon was high in the sky, it's milky light causing the sand to appear to glow. Making our way into the cave, Kurama began to set the branches and sticks into a pile, before weaving a few hand signs, before lighting them on fire with a small fireball. Sighing, I set my backpack down, before sitting down close to the fire. Taking a quick look outside the cave, she sat down next to me, wrapping a tail around me. Feeling a bit off put by how close she was, I looked at her sideways. "You're not going to jump me like last night, are you?" I asked and she blinked, her tail loosening it's grip on me slightly.

"No... Unless you want to. I am looking forward to consummating things, but I think that'd be better in an actual bed, don't you think?" She asked, and I relaxed slightly, giving her a weak smile. After a few seconds of looking into the crackling fire, she blinked, as if an idea had come to her, and she looked at me. "Hey, Naruto." She said, and I looked back at her. "What would you say if I offered you a new summons?" She asked, and I sat up straight, looking at her in confusion.

"New summons?" I asked, and she nodded, snapping her fingers and causing a scroll to appear. Opening it, she laid it across the floor of the cave. Looking at it, I was surprised to see only two signatures on the scroll. Seeing my surprise, she smiled.

"This is the summoning contract of the foxes. This is very rare, and not too many people know about this summon. In fact, the only ones who knew about it were the Sage of Six Paths, and his son..." She said, giving me a few seconds to let that information sink in. "I was given this scroll to keep it safe, and it's been with me ever since." She said, waiting for my answer. I looked between her and the scroll a few times, before finally focusing on her.

"And... You're letting me sign it too?" I asked, and she smiled, giving a nod. Feeling excited, I got ready to bite my finger to draw blood, before a thought came to mind. "What about Gamatatsu and Gamakichi?" I asked, and she looked confused, before realization crossed her face.

"Your toad summons?" She asked, before sighing. "I'm afraid that if you sign this contract, your name would be removed from the toads' contract, as you can't have multiple types of summons. But maybe it would be for the best..." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked, and she frowned.

"Well, the toads are loyal to the Leaf, right?" She asked, and I nodded. "Wouldn't it be a conflict of interest if a summon loyal to the Leaf helps someone not from the Leaf?" She asked, and I sighed.

"I guess that's true... So, who are the fox summons loyal to?" I asked, and she smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"That's the beauty of the fox summons. They'll be loyal to their summoner, no matter what village, nation or area they are from!" She said, and I nodded, looking thoughtful.

"I suppose I'll sign it then." I said, biting my finger and writing my name out in the blood, before spreading the blood to my other fingers and pressing them against the paper. Wiping my fingers off, I sat up. Looking over the scroll, she smiled, before rolling it up and snapping her fingers, sending the scroll away. Looking at her for a few seconds, I blinked. "So, should I try to summon a fox now?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No. You had a long day today, and tomorrow we have to make the walk to the Hidden Sand Village, you need to rest. We could try and summon a fox tomorrow." She said, and as if her words had called it forth, I let out a yawn, realizing for the first time how tired I was. Nodding, I reached into my backpack, before my eyes widened.

"Shit!" I said, and she looked at me in confusion. "I knew I was forgetting something, I forgot my blanket and pillow!" I said, and she only smiled, scooting closer to me and moving a tail behind me.

"Lay down." She said, and I looked at her strangely, before doing what she said. As I lowered my head, she slid her tail behind it, until my head was resting on it. Afterwards, she wrapped her remaining tails around me like a makeshift blanket. Looking down at me, she smiled. "How's that?" She asked, and I looked up at her.

"Good, thank you, but what about you?" I asked, and she laid down against me.

"I guess I'll just have to use you for warmth, and as for a pillow..." She trailed off, laying her head on my chest, her ear against my heart. She gave a contented sigh, and I smiled, wrapping my arm around her.

"I guess this'll do." I said, and she just closed her eyes, her tails tightening around me slightly. Closing my eyes as well, I got ready for my first night as a rogue ninja.

 **Hello everybody. For some reason, I really feel like I put a lot more work into this chapter then before. I really am starting to get into the idea of this story, and I hope that you all are still enjoying it. I would like to thank Lockdown00, who gave me some ideas and suggestions that I plan to use in this story. (Fox summons, and some weapon possibilities.) Anyways, again, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will see you all in the next one.**

 **~spudbud16**


	4. Chapter 4

**Before this chapter begins, I just want to give a fair warning. In this story, there will be places that don't exist in the anime/manga, so please keep in mind, this story won't be entirely canon. Also, I am sorry if I make Tsunade appear as a bad person, she has never been one of my favorite characters, so my own personal prejudice may show through.**

 _Naruto's POV_

Mumbling slightly as I slowly woke up, I became aware of what felt like someone rubbing me on top of the head. Opening my eyes, I looked up, only to see Kurama absentmindedly petting my head, a smile on her face. Blinking, she looked down at me, and upon seeing that I was awake, her eyes widened, and her smile vanished as she pointedly looked away, blushing slightly. "O-oh, good morning, Naruto." She said, clearing her throat awkwardly, and I looked at her in confusion for a few seconds.

"W-were you just... Petting me?" I asked feeling more confused than upset. Blushing again, she quickly shook her head.

"N-no! Maybe you imagined it." She said, and I gave her a deadpan look, before shaking my head and rolling my eyes, deciding that this was something I was probably going to have to get used to with her around.

"Whatever, anyways, are you hungry?" I asked, and her stomach growled in response. Taking that as an answer, I stretched, separating from her tails and reaching for my backpack. Looking inside, I frowned, as the only food I had was dry ramen and wrapped loaves of uncut bread. Sighing, I held out one of the loaves of bread for her. "Here, not sure if you'll like it plain, but it's all I have besides dry ramen." I said, and she took it, giving it a curious look, before taking a bite, shrugging a few seconds later.

"It's ok... So, do you want to try summoning a fox now?" She asked, taking another bite of her bread, and I walked towards the mouth of the cave. Already, I could feel the temperature beginning to rise as the sun climbed higher into the sky. It was already slightly past mid morning. Turning and stretching once again, I shook my head, much to her confusion.

"It's already getting late into the morning. Maybe if I woke up earlier, I could have tried it, but if we want to make it to The Hidden Sand Village before it gets to hot, we should start heading out now. I could always try when we get there." I said, and she nodded, standing up as I grabbed my backpack, before following after me as I began walking. "So, how big do these foxes get? The toads can get pretty large; I just don't want to summon a fox, and have it cause damage to the Hidden Sand Village." I said, and she looked thoughtful.

"Well, some of them are pretty big..." She said, before noticing my look of apprehension. "But you shouldn't have to worry about summoning them, unless you're in Sage Mode." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Sage Mode?" I asked, and she blinked, before frowning.

"Huh, I would have thought that old pervert would have taught you about Sage Mode..." She said, shaking her head. "Remind me to take you to the Land of Tofu." She said, before sighing. "Anyways, Sage Mode is a state that can be reached by mixing Nature Energy and your own chakra in order to make a new chakra called Sage Jutsu Chakra. In Sage Mode, you can get new techniques, as well as make yourself even stronger." She said, and I frowned.

"Why wouldn't the Pervy Sage teach me about Sage Mode? That sounds pretty awesome!" I said, and she looked away.

"Well, it can be dangerous taking in Nature Energy, so that could be why he didn't mention it." She said. I looked at her questioningly for a few seconds, and she sighed. "Taking in too much of it can cause... mutation." She said, and I stayed silent for a few seconds.

"Mutation? What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, if you train under the Fox Sage, if you take in too much Nature Energy, you can completely turn into a fox; Losing all that made you human..." She said, and I nodded silently, thinking about the risks, before shrugging.

"So, when can I start learning how to enter Sage Mode? You seem to know a lot about it, are you able to teach me?" I asked, and she looked at me in surprise for a few seconds, before chuckling.

"Still eager to get stronger, are you? Unfortunately, I wouldn't be the one teaching you. We would have to go to the Land of Tofu." She said.

"You keep saying that, but what is the Land of Tofu? I've never heard of that place." I said, and she smiled.

"You wouldn't find it on a map. The Land of Tofu is like the Toads' Mt. Miyōboku. It is an island where the foxes reside, and it's location has been kept secret." She said, before looking serious. "Now, if I show you the island, you can't tell anyone where it is, or anything about it. It is a location that has been untouched by humans, and I would rather it stay that way, got that?" She asked, and I nodded. Smiling once again, she nodded in satisfaction. "Good!" She said, before falling silent, as we continued on to the Hidden Sand.

 _Shikamaru's POV_

Standing outside of Naruto's house, I sighed, knocking for the fifth time on his door. Nobody around the village had seen him since yesterday, and as much of a drag it was to walk all the way over here, I decided to check on him. Even though he generally stayed to himself, it was unusual not to at least see him wandering around the village. "Oh come on, Naruto. I know you're in there. Don't tell me you're upset we weren't around on your birthday..." I said, getting nothing but silence. Frowning, I began to get the feeling something was wrong. Trying the doorknob, I blinked in confusion when I found that it was unlocked. "Hey, Naruto, are you ok?" I asked, before looking around. Naruto wasn't here. In fact, none of his things were here; His house was empty. It was as if no one was living here. Concerned, I decided to ask Lady Tsunade if she knew where Naruto was. Making my way to the Hokage's office, I knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, Lady Shizune opened it.

"Oh, good morning, Shikamaru." She said, and I nodded.

"Good morning, is Lady Tsunade here?" I asked, and she nodded, opening the door for me.

"She is, she was just about to call for you." She said, before turning around. "My Lady; Shikamaru is here to see you." She called. Looking at her in confusion for a few seconds, I walked in. Lady Tsunade was at her desk, however, instead of being busy with paperwork, she looked troubled. Looking up, she sighed.

"Hey, Shikamaru, I was just about to call for you. It's about Naruto..." She said, and I straightened up, my attention on her.

"That's why I'm here. No one has seen him since yesterday, and when I went to check on him, his house was empty. Do you know where he is?" I asked, and she sighed, steepling her hands.

"He's gone... He's been exiled. As for where he is, when the ANBU and I last saw him, he was at the border between us and the Land of Wind." She said, and my eyes widened.

"What?! Why would you exile him after everything he's done for the village?!" I asked, and she frowned, standing up and looking out at the village through the window.

"Look, I offered him the chance to return, but he refused. I didn't want to exile him, but the point of the matter is that he put the village in grave danger." She said, and I opened my mouth, looking at her in shock.

"W-what did he do?" I asked, unable to picture Naruto doing anything that would bring the village he loved to any kind of danger.

"The Ninetails is no longer sealed away. Naruto released the seal..." She said, clenching her fist.

"Did you ask him why? I mean... Hasn't the Ninetails tried to escape before? Isn't it possible it managed to escape this time?" I asked, and Tsunade sighed.

"Maybe, but Naruto seemed pretty chummy with her..." She said, her eyes darkening. "Do you understand now why he's been exiled? Like I said before, I offered him the chance to return, but he already made up his mind. He turned his back on the village, and in turn, has chose the life of a rogue ninja." She said, sitting back down.

"I-I..." I stammered, trying to decide what to think.

"Anyways, it's too late now. I really don't like making this decision, but I need you to let the others know that if Naruto is seen near the village, they are to attack on sight and drive him away." She said, and my head snapped up so I could look at her. Having made up my mind, I shook my head.

"No. I will not!" I said, and she looked at me in shock.

"What? Are you saying that you're going to ignore a direct order from your Hokage?" She asked, and I turned around, walking towards the door. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? I'm not done yet!" She shouted, and I stopped for a few seconds.

"Don't get me wrong, if Naruto actually made an attempt to harm the village, I would lay my life on the line to stop him; I wouldn't even hesitate. But I will not harm someone who hasn't done anything, especially a friend. As for not wanting to come back, can you blame him? Ever since I can remember, people treated him with fear and hatred. Even his own friends avoided him on his birthday... Would you be willing to return to that?" I asked, and she remained quiet. "Now, are you going to exile me too for disobeying you? If so, prepare to exile all of Naruto's friends, because none of us are going to follow that order!" I said, before walking out, leaving Tsunade in silence. Quickly making my way into the village, I began looking for the others. Passing by the Yakiniku Q, I heard Choji. Walking inside, I saw that not only was Choji here, but Iruka-Sensai and the others as well. The only one not here was Sakura. Looking up, Choji waved.

"Shikamaru! Come on, sit down, Iruka-Sensai is buying!" He said, and Iruka sweatdropped.

"J-just try not to get too much." He said, and I gave him a sympathetic look, before remembering why I was here in the first place.

"That can wait! It's Naruto!" I said, and Iruka looked at me in confusion.

"Is he ok?" He asked, and Neji nodded, looking concerned.

"Yeah, where is he? Sakura went to get him yesterday for the party, but I haven't seen either of them since..." He said.

"Naruto has been exiled! Lady Tsunade has declared him a rogue ninja!" I said, and Iruka dropped his chopsticks, looking shocked, and the group grew silent.

"N-Naruto?" Hinata whispered, the color draining from her face.

"What?! Why?" Iruka demanded, and I sighed, lowering my voice as other people began to look.

"Apparently, the seal holding the Ninetails has been undone. Tsunade says that she gave him a chance to return, but he refused. He was last seen near the Land of Wind's border, but Tsunade is already planning on telling us all to attack him on sight if he is seen near the village." I said, and Neji scoffed.

"Has she gone insane? None of us would attack him!" He said, and I agreed.

"I said the same thing. Naruto has done so much for this village, and for us. I certainly wouldn't attack him like she wants." I said, and Iruka stood up.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can go talk to Tsunade about all this..." He said, setting money on the table for the food, before walking out. Taking this time to sit down, I sighed.

"We're going to go find Naruto, aren't we?" Choji asked, and I looked up in surprise.

"I'm in if you two are going. We already lost Sasuke, I'd hate to lose another friend." Ino chimed in, and I blinked, before sighing again.

"Yeah, but not to bring him back..." I said, and everyone looked at me in surprise.

"W-what do you mean?" Hinata asked, her eyes wide, and I frowned.

"Think about it, Naruto has been branded as a rogue shinobi, he'd only be attacked if he came back. And even if Lady Tsunade were to change her mind, the Ninetails has still been released, and the only person who knew how to seal it away in the first place was the Fourth Hokage, and he's dead. The village would never accept him back anyways. If we go looking for Naruto, it would be to say goodbye." I said, and Hinata looked down at the table.

"I-in that case, may I come along too? I-I would like to see Naruto again." She said, and Neji shook his head.

"Hinata, you can't! You're a part of the main branch, and you have a reputation to keep for the Hyuga clan. You can't just up and leave the village!" He said.

"It's not up to you, Neji!" She said, raising her voice slightly, before quieting down again. "I-I claim to like Naruto, yet I wasn't even there for him on his birthday... I-I want to apologize to him." She said, and Neji stayed quiet. Frowning, I stood up.

"Well, if we're going, we should start getting ready before Lady Tsunade decides to put us all under watch. Get everything you need, then meet up at the gate." I said, and the others nodded, before we all headed out. Ten minutes later, Ino, Choji, Hinata, and I, as well as Kiba and Akamaru, gathered at the gate.

"I hope you don't mind Akamaru and I coming along, we figured you'd need help tracking Naruto." Kiba said, and I nodded, before taking a look at everyone gathered.

"Ok, here's what we know. He was last seen close to the border between here and the Land of Wind. We can assume he was heading for somewhere he felt he could stay at, and the only place I know of there is the Hidden Sand." I said, getting a collective nod. "Alright, if you're ready, let's-"

"Hold it..." Someone said, and I looked up, only to notice Kakashi sitting on top of the guard post, his 'Make Out Tactics' book in hand.

"K-Kakashi-Sensei!" Hinata said, and he jumped down, looking at each of us for a few seconds, before sighing and closing his book.

"You all aren't planning on bringing Naruto back, are you?" He asked, and I sighed, shaking my head.

"No... We know full well that that wouldn't be a good idea. No, we're going to find him and properly say goodbye." I said, and he looked at us in surprise.

"Oh? Huh... With the way you all went after Sasuke, I would have thought that you would do the same. However, I'm glad you aren't, you'd just be setting yourselves up for disappointment. Anyways, it looks like Naruto will be able to pass on his message himself..." He said, and Hinata looked at him in confusion.

"Message?" She asked, and Kakashi nodded.

"He wanted me to tell you all that he was sorry for leaving without saying goodbye or letting you know what happened." He said.

"Well thanks for telling us. Does this mean you aren't going to try and stop us?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Why would I? You're just going to say goodbye to a friend; One who is still a member of Team Kakashi in my eyes. It's not like you're leaving the village for good." He said, and I nodded.

"Thanks, Kakashi-Sensei." I said, and he smiled, forming a few hand signs, before disappearing using the body flicker technique. Feeling determined once again, I turned towards the others. "Ok, let's go!" I said, and the others fell in behind me as we exited through the gate. _Wherever you are, Naruto, we are on our way..._

 _Naruto's POV_

Sneezing, I wiped my nose on my sleeve, sniffling slightly, and Kurama frowned. "You're not getting sick, are you?" She asked, looking concerned, but I just shook my head.

"No, just a random sneeze; No reason for you to abandon your pride and start worrying!" I said teasingly, and she smirked, rolling her eyes. "Hey Kurama? Do you think you could put up your human disguise?" I asked, and she flicked an ear.

"I guess I could, but why? Is something wrong?" She asked, and I once again shook my head, coming to a halt.

"No, nothing's wrong, it's just... Look up ahead, you see that dune?" I asked, and she nodded. "Ever since the threat of the Akatsuki, the Hidden Sand set up a constant watch. As soon as we get past that sand dune, we'll be in their sights, and I'd rather not send anyone into a panic when we plan to ask for a place to stay." I said, and she nodded, changing herself to look human. When she was ready, we began to walk once more. Apparently, I was correct before, as when we passed by the dune, and the stone outcrop hiding the village came into sight, a few seconds later, I noticed someone running towards us from the large stone wall. Pausing, I raised my arm to bar Kurama from taking another step. Waiting for the figure to get closer, I soon recognized the man in black as Kankoro.

"Naruto?" He called, as he got closer. "It is you! I thought I recognized your orange and black jumpsuit through my scope! So, what can I do for you? He asked, and I sighed.

"We need to talk to Gaara..." I said, gesturing to Kurama, who was standing close to my side. Looking between us, he grinned, raising an eyebrow.

"And who is this; Your girlfriend?" He asked, and I paused, before nodding, causing her eyes to light up.

"...Yes." I said, and he grinned even more.

"Well, look at you! And here I thought you had your heart set on Sakura!" He chuckled, and I frowned.

"Yeah... Well things change." I said, and he frowned, as if sensing I wasn't up for catching up. Shifting his weight to his other foot, he took a look back towards the direction of the village.

"So, may I ask what you want to talk to Gaara about?" He asked, gesturing for us to follow him. Sighing, I shook my head.

"I don't really feel comfortable discussing it out here, but I promise I will explain everything when we get to Gaara's office." I said, and he nodded.

"So, how's the Leaf? I noticed it's only you and..."

"Kurama" I said, and he nodded.

"Right. I noticed it was just you and Kurama. Is everything ok at your village?" He asked, and I scoffed silently, causing him to look at me in surprise. "Woah, was that a bit of contempt I heard?" He asked, and I stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"Like I said, I'll explain everything." I said, and he nodded. Walking in silence, we eventually reached the stone wall that stood as the guard station. Stopping in front of it, Kankoro looked up at the top.

"Maki!" He called, and a few seconds later, a woman looked down. "I need to escort these two to Gaara, so you're in charge until I get back, ok?" He asked, and she nodded, before looking at us.

"Oh, hello Naruto!" She said, smiling and waving. Awkwardly, I waved back, before we began to continue through the ravine like entrance.

"Maki... Why does that name sound familiar?" I asked, and Kankoro raised an eyebrow.

"Probably because she was the leader of the squad you were placed in when you, Sakura, and Shikamaru came to help watch out for the Akatsuki. She's also my girlfriend." He said, and I looked surprised.

"Huh, congratulations. So how long have you two been together?" I asked, and he looked up at the sky fondly, a smile on his face.

"Tomorrow will make it a year." He said as we made it into the village. A few people smiled and waved, and I waved back.

"You know, I still find it weird when people actually go out of their way to be kind to me..." I said, and Kankoro looked at me in confusion.

"You still getting trouble for being the Ninetails Jinchūriki?" He asked, and I sighed, a slight frown on my face.

"You have no idea... That's mainly why I need to talk to Gaara." I said, and he looked at me in curiosity for a few seconds, but he didn't ask any questions.

"Actually, I have somewhat of an idea. Gaara still gets fearful looks from the elders of the village, even though he's been running himself into more and more stress trying to prove that they have nothing to fear." He said, and I looked at him in shock.

"Really? I would have thought he more than proved himself!" I said, and he sighed.

"Unfortunately, some people still don't think so, and the fact that he is Kazekage doesn't seem to have helped." He said, and I went silent; How much Gaara had been going through finally sinking in. "It isn't all bad though." Kankoro said, and I looked at him in confusion. "He seems to take all the doubt he gets, and use it as motivation. It just makes him work harder at his goals." He said, and I smiled. That seemed like Gaara all right. Continuing to walk through the village in silence, we eventually made it to the Kazekage's office. "Well, here we are..." He said, before leading us inside and down a hallway. Knocking on a door, he paused. "Gaara? Sorry to bother you, but you have visitors." He said, before opening the door, when Gaara called us in. Walking inside, I could immediately see how stressed he was, resting his face in his hands for a few seconds and rubbing his eyes, before sighing.

"Yes? How can I help-" He began, before his eyes widened when he saw me. "Naruto? What are you doing here?" He asked, before gesturing towards two chairs. "Go on, have a seat. How long has it been since you were last here?" He asked, and I sighed, sitting down on a wooden chair; Kurama taking the other.

"Two years... Almost three." I said, before looking him in the eyes. "Look, Gaara, I need to talk to you about something." I said, and he nodded, becoming serious.

"Kankoro, you can leave." He said, and Kankoro looked like he was about to argue, and I spoke up.

"No, it's ok. I did promise to answer his questions he asked me." I said, and Gaara sighed.

"I see... Then can you at least close the door?" He asked, looking at Kankoro, and he nodded, quickly shutting the door, before leaning against the wall. "So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked, and I frowned.

"First of all, I should tell you that I'm no longer a shinobi of the Leaf: I have been exiled." I said, and Gaara sat up straight, his eyes widened as he looked at me in shock.

"What?! When did this happen?" He asked, and I sighed.

"It happened yesterday..." I said, and he frowned, steepling his hands, before looking thoughtful for a few seconds.

"Why were you exiled? No matter how hard I try, I can't picture you doing anything that would warrant it." He said, and I sighed, looking at Kurama and nodding. Understanding what I meant she slowly stood up, catching the attention of Gaara and Kankoro.

"Ok, before I do anything, know I am not here to cause trouble. However, if any of you make a move, I will have no trouble killing you." She said, and without waiting for their reaction, she released her disguise jutsu. Gaara looked at her in shock, while Kankoro reached for his kunai pouch. Seeing this, I stepped in between him and Kurama.

"But... Y-you're the-" Gaara began, and Kurama rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her hip.

"The Ninetails? Yes, that's right." She said, and he turned his shocked eyes on me.

"How did she escape? It was to my understand that when a tailed beast is removed, the Jinchūriki dies!" He said, and I cleared my throat awkwardly.

"R-right, well, you see..." I began, before turning towards Kurama. "Well, she can explain it!" I said, and she rolled her eyes at my childish embarrassment.

"I swear, Naruto. You can be so childish! Anyways..." She said, turning to look at the Kazekage. "I used something you've most likely never heard of. I used my chakra to place something called a mate mark on Naruto." She said, walking towards me and grabbing me, before lifting the back of my shirt and showing the mark. Squirming out of her grip, I jumped back and glared at her. She chuckled, before going solemn. "To answer your other question, my escaping caused quite a bit of trouble between Naruto and Jeriah. Since the one who sealed me in Naruto before is long dead, and there was no way to reseal me, Jeriah exiled him; A day after his birthday..." She said, and I looked away. Gaara nodded, him and Kankoro having calmed down now that they realized Kurama wasn't going to start going on a rampage.

"I see... So why did you come here?" Kankoro asked, and I turned to Gaara.

"I was hoping I might be able to stay here; At least for a day or two. I have money, so I can pay for a room. I just need somewhere I can stay so I can figure out what to do next." I said and Gaara nodded thoughtfully. Seeing this, Kankoro frowned.

"Gaara... I get that Naruto's a good friend, and he's helped us a lot, but is it really a good idea to take in a rogue ninja; Especially one from the Hidden Leaf? This could sever our alliance with them!" He said, and Gaara shook his head.

"Nonsense!" He said, before looking at me. "Of course you can stay here for a bit. I can't give you a free room at the hotel, but I can give you up to a week to stay. Two days is certainly not enough time to figure that out." He said, and Kankoro looked to be about to argue, before being silenced with a glare. "However, the only condition is that she stays in disguise. I don't want the villagers going into a panic." He said, and Kurama grumbled, before bringing up her disguise.

"Thank you, Gaara. If you need any help around the village, just let me know; I'd hate to feel like I was freeloading." I said, and he smiled.

"Will do, Naruto. Kankoro, please show Naruto where the hotel is." He said, and Kankoro sighed, giving a nod, before leading us out. As we walked out of the building, I frowned, looking at Kankoro.

"Look, I'm not trying to cause any trouble." I said, and he nodded.

"I know. It's just... You inspired Gaara to become Kazekage. You proved to him that even a Jinchūriki could have friends. He's just going to keep on trying to make it up to you; I'd just hate for this village to come under fire because of his good nature..." He said, before falling silent again, and I looked down. Eventually, we reached a small two story building that reminded me of the apartment building I lived in before. "Well, here you are, now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to guard duty." He said, leaving us in front of the building. Walking inside, I walked up to the front desk. Handing the man at the desk some money, he handed me a key, and Kurama and I headed back outside, before climbing the steps to our new room for the time being. Once the door was unlocked, Kurama instantly made her way inside, throwing herself onto the bed.

"Ah, it feels great to be in a bed again!" She said, sighing and closing her eyes in relaxation. Rolling my eyes, I set my backpack down.

"Yeah? Well don't get used to it yet, we have to go get you some new clothes." I said, and she blinked, sitting up and looking at me in confusion.

"I already have clothes though." She said, and I frowned.

"Yeah, _my_ clothes. Clothes that I would rather have back." I said, and her eyes narrowed, before she wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were hugging herself.

" _Mine_." She said, and I looked at her in exasperation for a few seconds, before sighing.

"Why do you like my clothes so much? They're men's clothes, and anyways, aren't they tight around your... chest? It certainly looks that way." I said, and she blinked, before giving me a smirk.

"Oh, so you've been looking at my breasts? I'll just have to remember that." She said, causing me to look away. "As for why I like these clothes... T-they have your scent." She said, looking away in embarrassment. Looking at her strangely for a few seconds, I sighed.

"Fine, keep them, but we're still going to get you more clothes! You can't just have one pair of clothes, and you're not getting any of my other clothes!" I said, and she pouted, before giving a sigh.

"Fine, come on then. The sooner we get to relax, the better." She said, before getting up and walking to the door. Making sure I had my money, I followed her outside and locked the door, before heading into the village's shopping district, Kurama still not looking very happy.

 **Hey everybody, I just wanted to thank you all for the attention you've given this story. I've said it before, but I am still shocked by how popular it is. Within a month of uploading this story, it has already received more than 100 favorites and follows! Never in any of my time writing fanfics have any of them received this much attention, and for that, I must once again thank you.**

 **~spudbud16**


	5. Chapter 5

_Naruto's POV_

Walking out of our apartment we are renting for the week, I locked the door, before Kurama and I headed out, heading for the shopping district. As we walked, Kurama turned towards me, looking thoughtful. Looking back at her questioningly, I cleared my throat, and she blinked, realizing I was looking at her. "Sorry, I was just thinking about something..." She said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Well then... A penny for your thoughts?" I asked, and she once again looked at me looking deep in thought.

"I still sense a bunch of my chakra in you. I expected there to be remnants of my chakra still left in you, but not this much..." She said, and I frowned, focusing on the chakra inside of me.

"You know, now that you mention it, I can feel what you mean... Is this a bad thing?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No. In fact, this might be interesting... Tell me, didn't you learn how to do the Rasengan from the old pervert?" She asked, and I nodded, looking at her in confusion.

"Yeah, but why?" I asked, and she smiled

"It may make it easier to teach you a new move!" She said, and my eyes lit up, and I looked at her in excited curiosity.

"What kind of new move? I was told that the Rasengan was a move only Jeriah and my father could use, as well as me." I said, and she nodded.

"This new move wouldn't be the Rasengan, but it's similar, which is why you knowing it will make things much easier! I can explain it more, but we'd have to find a training ground we could use." She said, and I nodded, excited at the prospect of learning a new technique. Walking past a shop, Kurama suddenly stopped, looking at a sign on the window. "Ooh, they have tofu!" She said, and I looked at her.

"You like tofu?" I asked, and she looked at me in disbelief.

"Of course I like tofu, who doesn't?!" She said, and I frowned slightly, shifting from foot to foot.

"Me for starters, I've never been a fan of tofu. I'd much rather have a bowl of Miso ramen with pork any day." I said , and she gave me a sideways look.

"You know, it might be a good idea to pick up some tofu anyways if you plan to summon a fox." She said, and I looked at her skeptically.

"Are you sure you're not just trying to get me to buy some so you can take it?" I asked, and she pouted slightly.

"Wow... So little trust!" She said, though she didn't try to deny it. "Seriously though, nothing wins over a fox more then tofu. It's not necessary, but it's a good way to build trust between who you summon." She said, and I nodded in understanding.

"I get it... So kind of like Gamatatsu. He was a lot more willing to help when I gave him snacks." I said, and she nodded in confirmation.

"Exactly!" She said, and I sighed, opening the door to the store. Sitting behind the front counter, an older woman looked up from the book she was reading, before giving a warm smile.

"Ah, welcome! Can I help you?" She asked, and I smiled back.

"Uh, yes. Do you have anymore tofu?" I asked, and she nodded, turning around and grabbing what looked like a small white block wrapped in plastic.

"Sure do! It's fresh too; I just received the soy from the Land of Sound, so I was able to make the tofu last night." She said, and I nodded, pulling out my wallet.

"So how much does it cost?" I asked, and she took out a paper to record the sale.

"That will be two Ryō." She said, and I looked up at her in confusion.

"Really? Isn't that a little cheap?" I asked, and she shrugged, giving a little sigh.

"Maybe, but tofu isn't that popular here, so I tend to sell it at a lower price." She said, and I frowned, looking at Kurama.

"You know what, can I get three?" I asked, setting six Ryō on the counter, and she looked at me in surprise, before nodding and grabbing two more sealed blocks of tofu, setting them in a box with the other, marking the paper. "Thank you." I said, and she shook her head.

"No, thank you!" She said, placing the six Ryō behind the counter and handing me the box. Giving her one last wave, we walked out; Box in tow. After the door closed, Kurama looked at me in confusion.

"I thought you didn't like tofu, so why did you pick up three things of it?" She asked, and I sighed.

"I don't... I just felt bad, ok? She was forced to sell it for that cheap, and I guess I just wanted to help out." I said, looking away. Kurama continued to look at me for a few seconds, before sighing.

"Wow. That was... Kind." She said, and I rolled my eyes, looking at her expectantly.

"What, are you going to mock me for being kind? After all, you used to do that a lot back when you were still locked inside of me." I said, and she frowned, shaking her head.

"No. Just... Be careful, ok? You don't want to be _too_ generous with your money. If you are, you can quickly build a reputation of being an easy mark. Also, remember. Your money needs to last." She said, and I looked at her in surprise, honestly expecting her to mock me like she used to. Walking in silence for a few minutes, She turned to look at me; Or more accurately, the box in my hand. "So... uh, since you don't like tofu..." She started, and I sighed, opening the box and tossing her one of the sealed blocks of tofu. Giving a small cheer, she caught it and tour open the plastic, immediately beginning to nibble at the food. Not understanding how she could like that stuff, I slowly shook my head, though I stayed silent as we walked, still looking for a place that sold clothes.

"Naruto!" Someone called, and both Kurama and I turned around, only to recognize the blonde haired girl who occasionally helped train the Genin in the Hidden Leaf. Stopping, I waited for her to catch up, and Kurama stepped closer to me possessively, as usual.

"Hey Temari!" I said, and she smiled and nodded, before her face turned serious.

"Hey, Kankoro told me what happened." She said, before, looking at Kurama, who was still nibbling at the tofu while remaining glued to my side. "Is it true that you're the Ninetails?" She asked, and Kurama's eyes narrowed slightly as Temari took a step closer to get a good look.

"Yes... _I am_." Kurama said, and Temari stopped, looking between the both of us, before a look of realization crossed her face, and she let out a chuckle, her gaze falling on Kurama.

"Oh relax, you have nothing to worry about from me." She said, before turning to me. "So, how was Shikamaru the last time you saw him?" She asked, and Kurama seemed to relax slightly. Sighing, I gave a shrug.

"I haven't seen him since before my birthday, but I guess he's been doing ok. I mean, he's been a lot busier since he's taken on more responsibilities in the Leaf." I said, and she nodded, before looking at me in surprise.

"Wait... Birthday? How old are you now?" She asked, and I sighed.

"As of yesterday, I turned nineteen. Though, do you mind if we change the subject?" I asked, not feeling like thinking about it. Temari nodded, before clearing her throat.

"So... What are you both doing?" She asked.

"Well, we were actually looking for somewhere that sells clothes, as Kurama needs some. Also, is there a training area we could use where I could practice some new techniques that Kurama wants to teach me?" I asked, and she thought for a few seconds, before nodding.

"I know the perfect spot to train! It's outside the village, and I'm pretty sure only Gaara, Kankoro, and I know about it, so you shouldn't have to worry about interruptions. I'll have to show it to you." She said, and I gave her a thankful smile. "As for the clothes shop, I can take you there... And perhaps help you pick out the right clothes..." She said under her breath, her gaze falling on Kurama; Who's eyes narrowed.

"I heard that! Are you saying there's something wrong with these clothes? Maybe you should keep your opinions to yourself, before I make you!" She said, clenching her fist, and I winced, giving Temari an apologetic look, but to my surprise, she held her hands up in mock surrender.

"No need... Nothing is wrong with the style per se, it's just... Those clothes are destinctly... Male. Don't you think you'd be more comfortable in different clothes? I mean, if it's the design you like, you could always ask for them to stitch it onto some new clothes." She said, and Kurama grumbled, gripping the fabric of my old shirt. Seeing this, Temari sighed. "I'll still take you both to the the shop, at least look at some of the clothes, ok?" She asked, and Kurama just mumbled. Starting to walk in front of us, Temari began to lead us farther into the village. After a few minutes, she turned to look at me curiously. "So... You and Kurama are together? I never would have pegged you as that type of person... But I guess that just goes to show that you never really know someone." She said, and I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't really have a choice; She wouldn't let me go until she had her way with me!" I said, and Kurama flinched, before looking at me accusingly.

"Well you certainly have a strange way of showing discomfort!" She said, and I glared at her.

"That's because I accepted the fact that I was trapped until you were done!" I said, and she pointedly looked away. Sighing, I looked back at Temari, who was silently listening. "Though, besides the circumstances of how it happened, I guess I am happy." I said, and she looked at me in interest. "At least Kurama doesn't send me flying whenever I get too close. Plus, she knows everything about me." I said, and Temari nodded.

"Well, besides the start, it seems like a decent relationship..." She said, and I nodded halfheartedly, while Kurama stayed silent. After a few minutes, we arrived at a small building, and Temari opened the door, holding it open for us. "Well, this it." She said, and we walked inside. Looking around, I saw that there was a lot of clothes hanging around. "Why don't you look around for anything you like?" She asked, and Kurama looked around, before immediately walking towards a rack of clothes to our left, reaching out and grabbing a plain black T-shirt. Looking at it for a few seconds, she picked up a couple more, as well as picking out a few pairs of matching sweatpants, before walking back towards us.

"Ok, I got everything I need." She said, and Temari looked at the clothes in her hands in confusion.

"Are you sure that's what you want? Don't you want a bit of variety?" She asked, and Kurama looked at her levelly for a few seconds.

"I'm sure..." She said, before looking thoughtful for a few seconds. "Though I may get them customized." She said, and Temari nodded.

"Ok then, why don't you go into the changing rooms and try one on to see if it fits." She said, and Kurama nodded, taking the new shirts with her, before heading into one of the back rooms. Turning to look at Temari, I sighed, taking out my wallet and looking at the amount of money I had left; Estimating I only had about two hundred ryō left.

"So, how much do you think all those clothes are going to cost?" I asked, and she frowned.

"It depends on the customizations she gets. Without customizations, probably around a hundred ryō, but with them, it could come out to about three hundred." She said, and I coughed, my eyes widening. Seeing my reaction, she gave me a sympathetic look. "Clothes are generally expensive, but don't worry, I'll take care of it." She said, and I looked at her in surprise.

"What? Why? I mean, I'm thankful, but... That's a lot of money." I said, and she nodded.

"Exactly. The fact that Kurama is wearing what I'm guessing are your clothes, I'm assuming that is the only thing she has right now. Also, something tells me you need all the money you can get, so you save your money, I'll take care of the clothes." She said, and I thanked her. She nodded, giving me a smile, before we stood in silence. A few minutes later, she broke the silence. "So... Tell me, how do you really feel about Kurama? I mean, I know you said you were happy, but you didn't really seem to act that way..." She said. Taking a look to make sure Kurama was still in the changing room, I sighed.

"I really meant what I said... But what am I supposed to think? All my life, she's given me trouble; Pestering me to release the seal. Now all of the sudden, she likes me, and has marked me as her 'mate', which I'm pretty sure she did just to escape. She did offer to remove the mark, but I don't know." I said, and Temari just nodded, listening as I got my thoughts out. When I finished, she sighed.

"You want my opinion?" She asked, and I nodded. "Give her a chance. I believe that she really does like you. I mean, why else would she get defensive whenever other women get close to you? If you really are wary of her, why don't you just try and talk it out with her?" She said, and I nodded, however, before I could say anything, the dressing room door opened, and Kurama walked out, holding her pile of clothes.

"Oh, hey Kurama, did everything fit alright?" I asked, and she looked at me for a few seconds, before nodding.

"So, what kind of design were you planning on getting on the shirts?" Temari asked, and Kurama looked at the shirts.

"I was kind of thinking of getting a fox on the front... For obvious reasons." She said, and Temari nodded, before reaching her hands out for the clothes.

"Yeah, I can get that for you. If you hand me the clothes, I'll pay for them." She said. Kurama handed them to her, and Temari took them over to the front counter, leaving us alone. Looking over at Kurama, I became aware that she was purposefully avoiding my eyes. Raising an eyebrow, I considered asking her if something was on her mind, but before I could, Temari made her way back to us. "Ok, here are your sweatpants; Your shirts won't be ready today, so you'll have to wait a bit and pick them up later." She said, and Kurama nodded.

"Right, now for that training area you were talking about earlier!" I said, and she blinked, before a look of realization crossed her face, and she nodded.

"Right! Come on, then, and I'll show you where it is." She said, and we followed her out the door. As we walked towards the gate, she turned towards us. "Hey, do you think I can watch you both training? I'm interested to see what kinds of jutsu you'll be learning." She said, and I shrugged.

"Sure, I don't see anything wrong with that. What about you?" I asked, turning to look at Kurama, and she frowned.

"That's not really a good idea... The jutsu I plan to teach Naruto is... Volatile. He'll need all the concentration he can get." She said, and Temari looked at her with wide eyes.

"Are you sure that's a good jutsu to teach him?" She asked, and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh come on, there's nothing to worry about!" I said, and Kurama nodded in agreement.

"He isn't wrong. He already knows the Rasengan; He shouldn't have a problem learning how to use this." She said, and Temari still didn't look convinced.

"Well, just be careful; Don't blow yourself up!" She said, and I nodded, before we all fell into silence once again. Eventually, after walking for nearly ten minutes after leaving the village, we came across a cave. "Here it is. Farther into the cave, it widens out. It makes a pretty great training area, and Kankoro put up some training dummies in there." She said, before going quiet for a few seconds. "Anyways, I should probably leave you two to your training now. Like I said, only Gaara, Kankoro, and I know about this place, so you shouldn't get any interruptions." She said, before turning and heading back in the direction of the village, leaving us alone. Sighing, Kurama stuck a finger out and focused her chakra into her finger, causing a small, albeit bright, orange flame to appear on her fingertip, before she turned towards the cave.

"Right, come on." She said curtly, and I looked at her in confusion for a few seconds, before quickly catching up to her before she could get too far ahead.

"Hey, wait! Is everything ok? Yesterday and this morning, you almost seemed like you were mellowing out, now you seem like something is bothering you." I said, and she grit her teeth slightly; The flame on her finger flickering slightly, before she took a breath and calmed herself.

"Just don't worry about it!" She said, and I looked at her, now sure that something was bothering her.

"No! If something is on your mind, please tell me. Why are you acting like-"

Maybe I just realized that you don't respond to kindness! " She snapped, and the flame popped, going out; Leaving us in complete darkness. Groaning, she refocused her chakra and brought the flame back. Looking at her in shock, I shook my head.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes.

" _What am I supposed to think... All my life, she's given me trouble; Pestering me to release the seal. Now all of a sudden, she likes me..."_ She mocked, and I flinched. "Yeah, that sounds pretty familiar doesn't it?!" She said, and I sighed.

"You heard that?" I asked, and she turned to glare at me, and I found myself backing up slightly.

"Of course I fucking heard that! Did you forget who I am?! My ears are way more sensitive than a humans!" She said, before sighing. "Be honest, do you even actually want the Mate Mark?" She asked. "Because like I said, I could always remove it. At least you won't have to worry about whether or not to trust me." She said, and I frowned.

"If your hearing is as sensitive as you say, then you must have heard me say that I meant what I said about being happy. It's just... I don't do well with instances where people just change that suddenly. You've attempted to take over my body before, so excuse me for being wary of you at first." I said, and she sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Naruto... Think about this for a second. If I wasn't as fond of you as I am, would I have let you know about the summoning contract I swore to keep safe and secret? If I planned to double cross you, why would I be teaching you a move that if you used correctly, could kill me?" She asked, and I looked at her in surprise. "And finally, if I wanted to harm you in any way, I had my chance in that cave we spent the night in before getting here. If I had any evil intent, I wouldn't have missed that chance like that. Do you still think I'm untrustworthy?" She asked, and I frowned.

"I... I... Not really." I said, and she gave me a small smile.

"Good. You were starting to become like the villagers back at the Leaf; You weren't even giving me a chance." She said, and my eyes widened, before I looked away.

"I... Apologize for that. To answer your previous question though, I do want to keep the mark, but you have as much of a choice as I do on whether you remove it or not." I said, and she looked at me seriously.

"You do understand that by keeping the mark, you are agreeing to be my mate. You understand how significant this choice is, right?" She asked, and I nodded. After a few seconds, she gave me a sideways grin. "Eh, I don't know... How do I know you're serious about this. I'm afraid you're going to have to prove how serious you are..." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"And... How do I go about doing that...?" I asked, and she licked her lips.

"When we get back to our room, before we consummate things, you are going to pleasure me and bring me to orgasm!" She said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Really? That's all? Easy!" I said, and she grinned, showing that there was more to it.

"With... Your... Tongue!" She said, sticking hers out at me and wiggling it suggestively. At a loss for words, I opened my mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Chuckling, she raised an eyebrow. "Still think it's going to be easy?" She asked, and when I didn't answer, she just smiled. "Either way, those are the rules!" She said, before beginning to walk ahead of me. Quickly getting a hold of myself, I walked faster to catch up with her. _What had I just gotten myself into!_

 **Hello everybody, I just wanted to apologize for the long delay, this chapter would have been finished and uploaded yesterday, (the 26th) but I had a bit of a health scare with my heart. Needless to say, I wasn't really up to writing and uploading after that.**

 **~spudbud16**


	6. Chapter 6

**I interrupt this chapter to bring you a bit of shameless self promotion. I recently uploaded a new chapter of 'Void's Odyssey', and for some reason, the notification didn't appear for me. So if you like that story and didn't get a notification, it has been updated. Now back to the chapter...**

 _Naruto's POV_

Making our way farther into the cave, we continued on down the dark corridor; The only thing keeping us from getting turned around was the bright flame currently burning strong on top of Kurama's index finger. Watching the flame, I couldn't help wondering how she was doing that. "What jutsu is that?" I asked, and she looked at me in curiosity, before following my gaze.

"What, this?" She asked, gesturing to the flame, and I nodded. Sighing, she frowned at me. "It's not a jutsu... It's pure fire energy." She said, and I looked at her in confusion. Seeing this, she sighed again. "Basically, I'm just taking my fire style and focusing it on my finger. As long as I keep my focus on the flame, it won't go out." She said, and I nodded in understanding.

"That's pretty cool." I said, and she shook her head, much to my confusion.

"Not really... I mean, anyone could do this if they focus enough." She said, and I frowned.

"Do you think I could do something like that with wind energy?" I asked, and she looked thoughtful for a few seconds.

"Well, you obviously can't create a flame, but you could possibly use it to make wind senbon. Also, you could use it to add more power to your shuriken and kunai." She said. I looked at my hand in wonder, and Kurama smiled. "Maybe after we work on this new technique, I'll teach you what I know. I do know wind style as well after all." She said, and I nodded.

"So, what is this new technique you want to teach me anyways? You've just been calling it a new technique, yet you haven't even told me what it is." I said, and she grinned.

"The Biju Bomb..." She said, and I looked at her in confusion for a few seconds.

"Biju Bomb...?" I repeated, and she nodded.

"Exactly! The highest level move a Jinchūriki can use!" She said, and I blinked, before frowning; Causing her to look at me in confusion.

"I'm not really a Jinchūriki anymore, though. Wouldn't that mean I couldn't use this 'Biju Bomb' Technique?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Not necessarily." She said, and I looked at her in interest. "Do you remember what I said this morning about a lot of my chakra still remaining in you?" She asked, and I nodded. "Well, theoretically, you could still be able to do it using that chakra." She said, and I nodded, beginning to look excited again. Smiling, she shook her head slightly. "However, we'll have to wait until we get to this training ground to find out for sure." She said, before we fell silent, focusing on the path ahead. Eventually, after walking for a few more minutes, we made it to a wide open area. Looking around, Kurama whistled slightly. "Well... This certainly does look like a training grounds." She said. "It is a bit dark though; If this has been used by those three from the Hidden Sand, it should have..." She began, before noticing some torches on the wall. Walking over to them, she lit them using her finger. "There!" She said, before making her way back. "Oh, this will do great!" She said, her eyes trailing around the cave and the dummies that lined the walls.

"Now that we're here, does that mean you'll finally teach me the Biju Bomb?" I asked, and she looked at me, rolling her eyes.

"You really are an impatient brat, aren't you?" She said, before sighing. "Though I guess I have been keeping you waiting for long enough." She said, looking at me with crossed arms. "Ok, first, let's see your Rasengan." She said, and I nodded, creating a shadow clone. Blinking, she frowned, looking at me in confusion. "What are you doing?" She asked, and I paused.

"I'm creating a Rasengan..." I said, and she shook her head.

"No you're not. Last time I checked, the Rasengan was a one handed move that didn't require shadow clones!" She said, and I looked away.

"I-I can't infuse enough chakra without a shadow clone..." I said, and she looked at me for a long moment, before sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose.

"Fine... That's ok. At least tell me you have enough control over it to throw the Rasengan..." She said, and when I didn't say anything, she shook her head. "If you can't control your chakra enough to use the Rasengan, I'm not even going to bother teaching you the Biju Bomb!" She said, and I looked at her in shock.

"Oh come on! I'm still able to use Rasengan, so what's the problem?" I asked, and she looked at me incredulously.

"Barely! You are _barely_ able to use it. If you can't fully utilize your chakra, how are you going to control mine? If you try the Biju Bomb, you'd end up blowing yourself up. No; Until you can form the Rasengan one handed, I won't even attempt to teach you the Biju Bomb." She said, and I sighed.

"What are we going to do now, then?" I said, and she frowned, looking thoughtful for a few seconds, before she seemed to have an idea.

"You still have that tofu on you, right?" She asked, and I nodded, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, why? Are you still hungry?" I asked, and she gave me a long look.

"Yes, but that isn't why I was asking." She said, and I passed her a block of tofu without another word. She immediately ripped open the plastic, before taking a bite, humming happily. After a few seconds, she sighed in content. "Anyways, now would be a good time to try summoning a fox... That was why I wanted to know if you had any tofu left." She said, and I nodded.

"I suppose now would be a good time. Do I just use the same hand signs?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, Naruto. The hand signs are universal; They don't change. The kind of summon that shows up just depends on the contract you signed..." She said, and I shrugged, creating the hand signs, before biting my finger and pressing my hand against the ground. A second later, a puff of smoke appeared, and from within, I could just barely see the outline of a small fox.

"Oi! Where am I?" It asked, and Kurama groaned. Looking at her in confusion, I was about to ask her what was wrong, when the fox turned to look at us. "And who the hell are you?!" It demanded, and I turned to look at him.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the one who summoned you." I said, and he scoffed; Looking at me in disbelief.

"You? Summon me? I don't think so, kid. A brat like you couldn't summon me; I was the Sage of Six Paths' son's first summon!" He said, and Kurama took a step forward, her eye twitching. Grabbing him by the tail and lifting him up, he yipped. "H-hey, watch the tail!" He said, and Kurama glared at him.

"This 'brat' as you call him, is my mate; So I suggest you treat him with respect!" She said, and he met her eyes.

"Why the hell should I care who-" He began, before looking closely at her eyes. "K-Kurama?" He asked in disbelief, and she released his tail; Causing him to land on his side awkwardly, before getting up and shaking the dust from his fur.

"That's right, and as for why you should show Naruto respect, I wonder what Hiromi would think if she found out that you were giving the fox summons a bad name by not listening to your summoner? Oh, and don't go acting all high and mighty. If I remember correctly, the only reason you were summoned by Old Man Six Paths' son was because he used the least amount of chakra in order to see who would be summoned!" She said, and he looked away. Looking at Kurama once again, I looked at her in curiosity.

"You two know each other?" I asked, and she sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Unfortunately. This is Tatsu; One of the weakest fox summons. Though I will admit, what he lacks in strength, he more than makes up with stealth. However, I highly suggest you unsummon him and try again for a stronger summon." She said, and I disregarded her suggestion for a second, as I looked the small fox over.

"Tatsu, huh?" I asked, and he looked at me questioningly.

"So you're my new summoner, huh?" He asked, and I nodded, before remembering the tofu. Opening the box, I set the tofu on the ground, and he sniffed it. "Tofu, huh? Maybe you're not that bad, kid." He said, before taking a bite. "Eh, not as good as back home, but still pretty good. So, what exactly do you want me to do? Steal? Help you get into a locked building?" He asked, and I looked at him in shock.

"What? No! I just expect you to help with tracking and reconnaissance." I said, and he looked at me blankly for a minute, before sighing.

"Kid, do I look like one of those Ninja Hounds to you? If you wanted that, you should have signed their contract!" He said, and I went to open my mouth, but before I could say anything, Kurama stepped forward, causing Tatsu to step back.

"Look, it's not like he's asking you to do something you've never done before. And he can't exactly sign any other contract; He's not part of a village." She said, and he rolled his eyes.

"Fine. Not like I have much choice..." He said, before looking at me. "Is there any tracking or recon you need done?" He asked, and when I shook my head, he sighed. "Well if you'll excuse me, I'll be going now." He said, before vanishing in a puff of smoke. For a few seconds, we both just stared at where the small fox had been, before I turned to Kurama.

"Stealing? Breaking in? What did he mean? Is that what a fox summon does?" I asked, and she hesitated for a second or two, before sighing.

"I may have left that part out when explaining the fox summons." She said, and I looked at her questioningly. "You see, sure, fox summons are great at tracking and reconnaissance; But that's not the only thing they're good at. Because of their sneakiness, they make great thieves; Able to help steal documents and retrieve stolen property. There is nothing saying you can't summon a fox for just their tracking and recon skills, but some of them; Tatsu included; Feel that that is below their true potential; Which is why I suggested you try and summon a different fox. So next time I make a suggestion, don't just ignore it!" She said, before sighing. "That being said, you don't have to summon foxes if that bothers you. Your name will still be on the contract, but you don't _have_ to summon." She said, and I thought for a few seconds, before shrugging.

"No, I'm not going to just decide not to summon because of something like this. I mean, who knows? Those skills may come in handy one day. I just don't want to do something that could get me in the Bingo Book. I'm already a rogue ninja, and that has no doubt landed me in it, but I don't want to give them anymore reasons." I said, and she nodded in understanding, before sighing again.

"So... You up for learning how to incorporate wind energy into your attacks now? I did say I'd teach you that." She said, and I nodded excitedly, causing her to chuckle. "Right. So you know how to use wind style correctly, yes?" She asked, and I nodded again.

"Well, I know how to combine it with my Rasengan, so I'd say yes..." I said, and a look of remembrance crossed her face.

"Right; Your Rasenshuriken... Too bad you can't use that without risking your ability to use chakra." She said, before holding out her hand. "Anyways, that should make teaching you easier. Here, hand me a shuriken." She said, and I did what I was told, handing her the mentioned weapon. Focusing on the shuriken, she began using wind style, causing the throwing star to glow a bluish white in color. "First, you need to focus on the shuriken. Then, begin to channel wind energy into it until it is glowing steadily." She said, before turning her gaze and aiming at one of the practice dummies. "Once you've successfully channeled your wind energy into your shuriken... Take aim at your target and let it fly!" She said, and with a steady breath and a flick of her wrist, she sent the shuriken flying towards the dummy so fast, that the only sign it was thrown was the loud thunk of the metal shuriken embedding itself in the wooden dummy. "Just like that!" She said, and I looked at her in shock. She only grinned, before looking at me. "Now you try." She said, and I slowly made my way to the wooden dummy to retrieve my shuriken, only to find that it was buried too far to pull out. Taking out another shuriken, I made my way over to Kurama. When I was standing next to her, she took a step back, gesturing for me to go ahead. Beginning to focus my wind energy into the shuriken in my hand, the throwing star flickered, but no matter how hard I tried, it would not glow. After a few seconds, I looked at her for help.

"It's not working..." I said, and she sighed.

"I can see that. You're focusing too much on the shuriken, and not enough on the actual wind energy. Therefore, you aren't able to build enough of it. Sure, you need to focus on the shuriken, but try to balance your focus on both things at once." She said, and I frowned, before trying it again. After a few tries, I finally succeeded in transferring the wind energy into the shuriken, causing it to glow, and Kurama perked up slightly. "There you go! Now aim for the dummy and throw the shuriken!" She said, and I focused on my target for a few seconds, before throwing the shuriken; Sending it zipping through the air. The throwing star hit the dummy with a loud bang, and I let out a small cheer, before running to collect it. As I made it to the shuriken however, I couldn't help but frown slightly as I discovered that it didn't embed itself in the wood as far as it had for Kurama. Walking over as well, she smiled encouragingly at me, before noticing my look of disappointment. "Hey, what's wrong? That was pretty good!" She said, and I just continued to frown.

"I don't know... That wasn't even close to the power you put behind it when you threw your shuriken..." I said, and she looked at me in surprise, before giving me an exasperated look.

"Are you serious? That was your first time infusing wind energy into a weapon; Of course you're not going to be doing it like me right away; What were you expecting?" She said, and I looked away. "Like I said before though, for your first time trying this, you did pretty good!" She said, and I gave her a small smile.

"But not good enough to move on to the wind senbon?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"One thing at a time." She said, before looking seriously at me. "Remember, I still want you to work on using the Rasengan without the need of shadow clones. You don't want to overwhelm yourself." She said, and I nodded in understanding.

"Well, than I guess I should get back to training." I said, and she frowned, looking around.

"I don't know. We've been here for long enough for today. We should be getting back. You may not be feeling it now, but wind style tends to tire you out; So forcing yourself to use Rasengan right now would be a bad idea." She said, and I frowned.

"Come on, I feel fine! Can't we stay a bit longer?" I asked, and she sighed.

"Think hard about this. If you pass out here, you'll be staying the night here, as I'm not carrying you back. I warned you, so it'd be your own fault!" She said, and I sighed.

"Fine." I said, and she frowned, looking at me for a few seconds.

"Don't worry, Naruto. There's still plenty of time to train. Taking a break now will just give you a full day of training tomorrow." She said, and I sighed.

"You have a point; I just really want to get stronger." I said, and she nodded, walking forward and placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I know you do, but you can't if you're passed out from exhaustion... Now come on, let's get going." She said, and I nodded as she sent a quick burst of wind energy to put out the torches; Before creating a flame over her finger once again. I couldn't help but look at her; Feeling impressed.

"Think you can teach me how to do that with wind energy?" I asked, and she rolled her eyes.

"All in good time, Naruto; All in good time..." She said, before leading the way out of the cave.

 _Shikamaru's POV_

Following closely after Kiba and Akamaru, the others and I traveled in silence as we followed Naruto's scent. As we walked, Kiba looked troubled. "What's up, Kiba? Is something wrong?" I asked, and he paused; Akamaru stopping next to him.

"No, nothing's wrong, I'm just thinking about what you said about Naruto traveling with the Ninetails... At first I didn't really believe it, but there's definitely a second scent mixed in with his." He said, and Akamaru gave a whine.

"...W-what if Naruto doesn't even want to see us?" Hinata asked, and I looked at her in shock.

"Do you honestly think he would feel that way, Hinata? This is Naruto we're talking about!" I said, and she fell silent for a few seconds, before sighing.

"I know, and I hate to even think this way, but it seems as if Naruto may have changed. The Naruto I know would never have released the Ninetails willingly..." She said, and Kiba nodded.

"Yeah, after all these years, it's hard to believe he would do something like this." He said, and I shook my head.

"Guys, why he did it isn't important anymore. We're here to say goodbye to him and to wish him luck." I said, and Ino nodded.

"Shikamaru's right. We could try all we want to figure out why he released the Ninetails, but all that really matters now is that Naruto is no longer in the village; And this may be our last time seeing him." She said, before sighing. "The village is definitely going to be different with him gone; I can't imagine how the news is going to affect Sakura when she finds out." She said, and I frowned.

"Something tells me she already knows..." I said, and she looked at me thoughtfully.

"That would explain why she hasn't really left her home lately; But why wouldn't she tell us that Naruto had been exiled?" She asked, and I shrugged; Not really sure.

"Kiba, is their scent still going in the same direction?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. They still seem to be heading West." He said.

"They seem to be heading towards the Hidden Sand Village; Which makes sense with Gaara being Kazekage and all." I said, before going silent.

"I hope Gaara's able to give Naruto a place to stay. They may be good friends, but I can imagine Lady Tsunade causing trouble." Choji Said, and I shook my head.

"He'll be fine. Lady Tsunade can't do much now that she labeled him a rogue ninja and he is possibly out of the Land of Fire." I said, and the others seemed happy with this answer. However, I couldn't help but frown as I left out the fact that it wasn't Lady Tsunade that Naruto would have to look out for; But the Land of Wind's Feudal Lord. Following Kiba and Akamaru, I silently hoped with all I had that I was right, and Naruto would be ok.

 _Naruto's POV_

Unlocking the front door, I opened it, and Kurama immediately flopped onto the bed; Releasing her disguise almost before I could close the door. Letting out a sigh, she closed her eyes. "Man, I love beds!" She said, and I nodded awkwardly, remaining silent for a few seconds, before clearing my throat.

"S-so how is this going to work..." I asked, referring to what she wanted me to do when we got back. She cracked open an eye, looking at me in confusion for a few seconds, before understanding what I was talking about. Frowning, she sat up, looking me directly in the eyes as I sat down on the bed.

"Oh... Naruto, you do realize that I was just messing with you before, right?" She asked, and I looked at her in confusion. Seeing this, she sighed. "You have nothing to prove. I know you were being serious about keeping the mark and becoming my mate. I guess you could say I have a sixth sense. I've been around for so long that I can tell when people are lying or have ill intentions." She said, before going on. "So don't worry, ok?" She asked, and I blinked, before sighing.

"Are you sure? That wouldn't really be fair to you, though." I said, and she looked confused. "After all, you did something like that for me before. What kind of 'mate' would I be if I didn't return the favor?" I asked, and she looked at me for a few silent moments, before giving me a smile.

"I'm sure." She said, going quiet for a few seconds, before grinning at me. "Though I _am_ in the mood for something else, if you're up for it..." She said, giving me a look that made me slightly nervous.

"Oh... Uh... Sure." I said, and she continued to grin, beginning to take off her clothes. Nervously, I began to remove mine. After getting her panties off, she looked at me, rolling her eyes when she saw that I still had my pants on. Pushing me over onto my back, she began pulling my pants and boxers down my legs. "H-hey!" I said in surprise.

"Sorry, but you're being too slow!" She said, and I sighed.

"I'm sorry, I'm just nervous. I'm still not used to this kind of thing." I said, and she paused for a second, before giving me a calming smile.

"Hey, there's no need to be nervous... The first time we did it, it felt good didn't it?" She asked, and I nodded. "Don't worry, I'll go slow if you want, but I promise you you have nothing to be nervous about." She said, gently grabbing my member now that my boxers were down. Wrapping her fingers around it, she looked me in the eyes; Slowly pumping her hand, causing me to groan slightly as I steadily began to harden. When I was hard enough, she grinned, straddling me and aligning my dick with her pussy. Closing her eyes and sighing in pleasure, she carefully lowered her hips; My dick sinking farther into her until I was fully inside her. Catching her breath, she slowly opened her eyes. "T-there..." She said, and I looked into her eyes as she panted slightly in pleasure. Taking a deep breath, I carefully wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me, locking my lips against hers. Eyes widening slightly, she slowly closed her eyes once again, relaxing into the kiss as my hips began moving on there own. A few seconds later, she pulled away from the kiss; Looking at me. "W-whatever happened to that nervousness you were just feeling? You seem to be getting quite into this." She said, before letting out a moan and wrapping her legs around me as I bumped her G-spot

"I can't help it... This feels good!" I said, and with a grin, she began to grind against me.

"O-oh yeah? Well if you think this feels good, just wait! Just sit back and let me do the work." She said, starting to pick up speed, and I let out a groan. Not one to be outdone, I reached up and grabbed her boobs, remembering how sensitive they were. Rubbing her right nipple with my thumb and taking her left one in my mouth, she gasped, and she tightened around my dick. "H-hey! I thought I told you to just sit back!" She said, and I smirked.

"Yeah, but you don't seem to mind too much." I said, before giving her breasts a small squeeze, causing her pussy to once again grip me tighter, and I could tell she was getting closer to her release. "Your breasts really are sensitive, aren't they?" I asked, and she looked away slightly, before adding more force to her thrusts to bring me closer as well.

"S-shut up..." She said, and I just grinned, continuing to kneed her boobs. Eventually, after a few minutes, I began to feel the tell tale tightening that warned of my impending orgasm, and I tried to hold it back. As if sensing how close I was, she looked me in the eyes. "A-are you getting close?" She asked, and I hesitated for a second or two, before nodding.

"Y-yes, but I think I could hold it back for a bit longer." I said, and she shook her head.

"Don't... I'm getting close as well. G-go ahead." She said, keeping her legs tightly around my back as she grinded her hips against mine. Stopping my holding back, I began matching her thrusts as the feeling of release began getting stronger. Unable to pull away with her legs around me, I thrusted in as far as I could go, before letting go, beginning to cum. Feeling the sudden warmth, Kurama moaned, her tunnel rhythmically clenching around my dick, milking me of my cum and sending it deeper within her. Shuddering, she twitched as my orgasm sent her over the edge. Digging her face into the crook of my neck, she moaned. After a few seconds, we both began to wind down.

"H-holy shit... That was great!" I said, and she only nodded, catching her breath. After a few seconds of silence, I looked at her in confusion, only to notice that she was asleep;Cuddled up against me, my dick still inside of her, though it was beginning to soften. Shaking my head, I leaned over to pull the blanket over us. Wrapping my arms around her and pulling her a bit closer, she smiled in her sleep, nuzzling against me and sighing. Closing my eyes, I yawned, before joining her in sleep.

 **Hello everyone, I'd just like to apologize for the long delay in the release of this chapter. I unfortunately fell into a bout of lazyness and procrastination for a while, but hopefully that is over now. Also, sorry if the ending is a bit weird; This is the only way I could end this chapter without changing my plans for the next chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I will see you all next chapter.**

 **~spudbud16**


	7. Chapter 7

_Naruto's POV_

Shifting slightly, I yawned, stretching and opening my eyes as the sound of people leaving their homes for their duties filtered in. Sitting up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I started to get out of bed; Slowly separating myself from Kurama; Who had her arms wrapped around me. Finally managing to get free, I carefully climbed out of bed, before heading for my bag, getting out a clean pair of clothes. As if sensing my absence from bed, Kurama began to stir, before groaning slightly. "N-Naruto?" She asked, cracking an eye open and looking at the bedside clock, before letting her head fall back to her pillow. "Do you have any idea what time it is? Come back to bed!" She said, and I looked at her apologetically.

"Oh, sorry for waking you Kurama, you can go back to sleep, I was just going out to train." I said, and her eyes snapped open, as she looked at me incredulously.

"Training? This early?! Can't you wait a bit?" She asked, and I shook my head. "Why is it so important that you train right this minute?" She asked, and I hesitated for a minute, before sighing.

"Well, if I'm supposed to be your 'mate', I'd rather not be a failure." I said, and she looked at me in surprised confusion.

"A f... What? Where's that coming from?!" She asked, and I frowned.

"Oh come on, you know exactly what I mean. I can't even use the Rasengan right..." I said, before sighing. "I may not be the brightest person, but even I can see that as I am now, I'm nothing more than an embarrassment." I said, and she frowned, slowly getting out of bed. Walking towards me, she looked me in the eyes for a few seconds, before slapping me; Not hard, but enough to shock me.

"Naruto! You are not a failure! Even without the Rasengan, you've saved and protected the village more times than I can count. The Rasengan isn't the only jutsu you know. And as for you being an embarrassment; Do you really think I care what people think?" She asked, and I frowned.

"I guess not... I still want to go training though..." I said, and she sighed.

"Well let me just get dressed, and we can head out." She said, and I frowned.

"You don't have to come with me. Like I said before, you can go back to sleep if you want." I said, and she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"I'm afraid that I do have to go with you. You are the type of person who would train until they pass out; Especially when they think they have something to prove." She said, turning towards the bed to collect her clothes. I was about to reassure her that I would be fine, before I got a look at her back. Blinking in confusion, I pointed at her back.

"Wait... Kurama, what's that?" I asked, and she turned to look at me in confusion.

"What's what?" She asked, and I walked over to her. On her back, was a mark that was similar to the one on mine. Pointing this out, she immediately went to the mirror and turned around; Looking at her reflection. When she saw the mark, she smiled. "It's official!" She said, looking happy. "We're officially mates!" She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Wait, I thought that was what the mark you gave me was for." I said, and she frowned.

"Well... Not exactly... Sure it marked you as my mate, but it wouldn't take affect until after we consummated it; To which the same mark would then appear on me. With the same mark on me, we are now linked!" She said, and I nodded in what I felt was understanding.

"I think I get it, but the way you explained it last time, you made it sound like it was already official..." I said, and she shrugged.

"Well, to me, it was. It's just a bit more permanent now..." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked, and she sighed.

"Think of it this way. Back when you were the only one with the mate mark, it could easily be removed if you wanted it to be. Now that we are linked, the mark can't be removed. The only way I understand it coming off, is if something happened to me. Similarly, my mark will stay on me as long as you are ok." She said, before looking away. "Anyways, enough about that." She said, picking up a pair of her new sweatpants, slipping them on. "Didn't you want to go training?" She asked, finding the shirt she was wearing yesterday and putting it on as well. Nodding, I stepped into my shoes.

"Yeah; I guess if you're coming too, we should get going. Actually, it may be a good thing that you're coming along; Those shirts might be ready for you to pick up." I said, and she nodded thoughtfully, before setting up her disguise. Once she was ready, we headed out, first heading into the village to stop by the tailory. Getting a few waves from a couple villagers, we finally arrived at the little shop. Opening the door, a bell chimed; Signalling our arrival to the woman sitting behind the desk. Looking up, she smiled at us.

"Welcome, how may I help you this morning?" She asked, and we stepped forward towards the counter.

"Yes, good morning. We were just stopping by to check if Kurama's shirts were finished." I said, and the woman blinked, pulling out a little book.

"Kurama... Kurama... I'm not seeing anything on the order list." She said, looking at us with a shrug.

"It would probably be under Temari's name." I said, and she once again looked at her list, before pointing at a name on the paper.

"Ah, yes, here it is; Five black t-shirts embroidered with the design of a fox on them, correct?" She asked, and Kurama nodded. "I just finished them last night." She said, before leaning behind the counter and bringing up a stack of shirts. "Temari has already paid for them, so you're free to take them; Just let me get you a bag." She said, getting a bag and placing the shirts inside, before handing it to Kurama. "There you go, hope you have a good day!" She said. Thanking her, we headed out. Walking out of the tailory, I looked at Kurama curiously.

"Hey, so now that you have your new shirts, do you want to change into one, or do you just want to drop them back off at the apartment and go training?" I asked, and she looked at the bag thoughtfully.

"You know... As much as I like this shirt, I actually wouldn't mind changing into something a bit more clean." She said, and I nodded, turning towards our apartment. Walking for a bit, we reached the door and I unlocked it, before waiting outside while she changed shirts. Frowning, she looked at me in confusion. "Why are you waiting out there? You've already seen me naked before." She said, and I rolled my eyes.

"I thought I'd give you a bit of privacy. You might be perverted enough to not mind me looking, but I'm not like the Pervy Sage; I actually have enough respect not to watch." I said. Having finished changing into one of her new shirts, she walked out; Playfully jabbing me in the arm.

"Oh really? So when you always tried to peek over the walls of the hot springs at that Sakura girl, that was you showing respect?" She asked, and I stammered a bit, my face turning red. "And I'm not perverted!" She said, sniffing indignantly and pouting. Breaking out of my embarrassed stammering fit, I looked at her incredulously.

"Seriously? As soon as you were out of the seal, you began hinting at what we had done the previous night!" I said, and she continued to pout.

"Hey, I just like to see you squirm; It's hilarious!" She said in defence, and I rolled my eyes.

"If you ask me, it's just your true nature showing through..." I said, and she pointedly looked away.

"Yeah? Well just remember who's planning on training you. If I were you, I'd be careful what you accuse me of!" She said, playfully sticking her tongue out at me. Quickly beginning to backtrack, I scratched the back of my neck nervously.

"H-hey, I was just making an observation; There's nothing wrong with being perverted. In fact, isn't everyone a bit pervy?" I asked, and she continued to stay silent. Sighing, I cleared my throat. "Well anyways, now that you have changed into one of your new shirts, which may I say looks really good on you, are you ready to head out to the training cave?" I asked, and she looked at me for a few seconds with a raised eyebrow, before rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"Oh, so now you're going to try and butter me up, huh? Well whatever, let's just head out for the cave." She said, and I breathed a sigh of relief, falling instep with her as she began walking down the steps leading to the road below. As we walked, I looked at Kurama.

"You know, I wasn't lying when I said that shirt looked good on you." I said, and she looked at me through the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah? Well, thank you." She said, before looking at me. "Hey, you do realize I was just messing with you, right? I'm well aware of how I can be." She said, and I nodded.

"I kind of figured that was the case." I said, and she nodded back.

"Good... Don't feel like you have to be careful with what you say, ok?" She asked, and I smiled. Content with my response, she remained quiet, and we continued on our way. Reaching the cave, we looked around, before entering; Kurama taking the lead. Making it to the training area, Kurama once again lit the torches, before leaning against the wall. Sighing, I took a deep breath.

"Well, I guess it's time to start training." I said, and she crossed her arms; Looking thoughtful for a few seconds as I took my place in the center of the cave.

"Wait... Hold on, Naruto. I may have a suggestion that could speed up your training." She said, and I quirked an eyebrow in interest. "You're familiar with the shadow clone method, right?" She asked, and I thought for a few seconds.

"You mean the technique Kakashi-Sensei came up with to help me learn Rasenshuriken?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I'm sure he wasn't the first to come up with it, but yes; That's the one I mean. It helped you learn Rasenshuriken, in theory, I don't see why you can't do the same to learn the basic Rasengan." She said, and I frowned.

"That is a good idea, but wasn't the whole point of training that I didn't use shadow clones?" I asked, and she sighed, giving a nod.

"Yeah, I guess that would be counterintuitive, but the way I was thinking, you would have each shadow clone make an attempt, without getting help from each other." She said, and I nodded thoughtfully.

"That might work... So, how many shadow clones would you suggest?" I asked, and she looked around the cave in thought.

"Well, I already know you can create a record amount of them, but how about you create ten. That should speed up your training quite a bit, without seriously taking up too much room." She said, and I nodded, before throwing together the signs to create the shadow clones. Relaying the plan to each of them, we all went to separate areas of the cave. Taking a deep breath, I began trying to form the Rasengan. Leaning against the wall and watching me closely with crossed arms, Kurama nodded to herself, before pushing herself off the wall and walking over to me a few minutes later. "Hey, Naruto. I think I can see what may be causing you trouble." She said, and I blinked, pausing. The shadow clones also stopped what they were doing; Quickly turning their attention to her. "You seem to have shape and power down, but the rotation seems off." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Wait, what do you mean?" I asked, and she sighed.

"Ok... Let's see. The Rasengan is just regular concentrated chakra, so..." She said, before holding out her hand; Going through the motions of forming a Rasengan. A few seconds later, a ball of blue energy began to form, and I looked at her in shock. Looking up from the Rasengan she had created, she grinned. "What? Surprised I can use this?" She asked, and I nodded. "Where do you think your father got the inspiration to make this move? It was based off of the Biju Bomb; Of course I'd be able to use it. Anyways, look at it. Notice how it's rotating in multiple directions at once?" She asked, and I nodded once again.

"Yeah, I see what you're talking about, but isn't that what I was doing?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No, you're only making it rotate in one direction. Imagine it like rowing a boat; If you only row on one side, you won't make any real progress. You have to make it spin in multiple directions like mine." She said, and I thought for a few seconds, before turning to my clones.

"Well, you heard her!" I said, and they immediately went back to work. Getting back to attempting to form the Rasengan, I sighed. "It's a lot better knowing I don't have to worry about you trying to take over my body, you know?" I asked, and she frowned.

"I won't lie and say I had your best interests in mind, but it wasn't all bad. It did some good..." She said, and I looked at her incredulously.

"Really?! How could having to worry about my friends safety when around me be any good?" I asked, and she sighed.

"Well, for one, your willpower increased. Every time I tried and failed to take complete control of you, you got better at dealing with it. Remember when that Sora kid attacked The Hidden Leaf, taking on my form, and I tried to take control?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Of course I remember that, you almost succeeded." I said, and she sighed.

"As much as I hate admitting being weak, I tried my hardest that night, and you held me back with sheer will and determination." She said, and I nodded slowly, though I still frowned.

"I guess that is pretty good. Still; I would have liked that a lot more if my friends safety wasn't on the line." I said, and she stayed quiet for a few seconds, before her gaze hardened.

"Right; Enough wasting time talking, back to training!" She said, and I sighed, getting back to what we had come here for in the first place. After about an hour or two, one of the clones let out a cheer, and everyone turned to look at him. Walking over to him, it quickly became apparent that he was holding a successfully made, albeit small, Rasengan in his hand. Giving Kurama a quick glance, I turned to look at the shadow clone.

"Do you think you could recreate it?" I asked, and he nodded, dispersing the ball of chakra, before getting back into position and holding out his hand. Sticking out his tongue in concentration, his other hand shot out in the motions needed to form the Rasengan. A few seconds later, a small glowing blue sphere began to form, and within another few seconds, the clone was holding another Rasengan. Grinning, I gave him a nod. "Great! Thank you for the hard work!" I said, before dispelling him. The remaining clones blinked; A look of understanding flashing in their eyes. Turning to look at them, I gave them a nod as well. "Now that you all have the basic idea of how to create a one handed Rasengan, I want us all to work on figuring out how to make it larger, understood?" I asked, and they nodded, before going back to separate areas. Looking at me, Kurama looked impressed.

"You know, when I suggested this method, I knew it would speed things up, but not this much! When you really put your mind on something, it truly shows!" She said, and I grinned and shrugged.

"What can I say? This is something that's important to me..." I said, before bringing my focus back to my task. After about another two hours, I had it almost perfected. I was able to successfully form a full sized Rasengan; However, it did not come without its problems. What I was able to form looked correct, but I seemed to have trouble sustaining its form for very long. After about ten seconds, it seemed to just blink out. After trying for a few more minutes, Kurama frowned and placed a hand on my shoulder. Looking at her for a few seconds, I sighed, straightening up.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's get back to the apartment." She said, and I nodded, turning towards my clones. Thanking them, I released the jutsu. Taking a step forward, I nearly passed out as the exhaustion of my work and my clones' work finally hit me. "Woah!" Kurama said, grabbing me and keeping me steady.

"I'm getting closer to mastering it..." I said tiredly, and she nodded, rubbing my shoulders.

"You're right; A little more practice and you'll have it down. But for right now, let's just get you home; You could use the rest." She said, and I couldn't hold back a yawn. Focusing her chakra, she put out the torches, before leading me out of the cave, letting me lean against her. Making it to the village, I looked at Kurama.

"Hey, thank you..." I said, and she looked at me in confusion.

"Thank you...? For what?" She asked, and I sighed.

"Just... Thank you." I said, and she looked at me for a long few seconds, before smiling slightly and nodding. Walking down the streets towards our apartment, I slowly shook my head. "You know, I still don't understand what you see see in me. Looking back, I was such a whiny kid." I said, and she actually chuckled, nodding.

"You aren't wrong there; You really were, but you've matured. You've matured from that whiny brat that used to drive me insane, to someone who actually gave a crap about making sure I was comfortable..." She said, trailing off with a sigh, causing me to look at her in confusion. "You know, I've been around since the Sage of Six Paths' era, and I've never met a human willing to do something like that; So yeah, excuse me for being _quite_ fond of you. Nodding, I looked forward, beginning to feel well enough not to have to lean against her anymore.

"Hey, random question, but besides their hatred, why do you hate the Hidden Leaf so much?" I asked, and she frowned slightly, scratching her arm.

"Well, can you really blame me? When you're viewed as nothing more than a weapon, that tends to happen." She said, and I sighed, nodding in understanding.

"Yeah... I guess I can relate." I said, and she wrapped an arm around me, giving me a sympathetic look.

"Hey now, let's stop with this depressing talk and get inside, ok? You could really use the rest." She said, giving me a smile, and I nodded as we walked towards the apartment building. Making it to the steps, I began to climb the first step, before pausing; A look of concern on my face. "What? What is it?" Kurama asked, and I held a finger up to get her to be silent for a few seconds.

"Do you sense that?" I whispered, and she looked at me for a few seconds with a frown, before rolling her eyes.

"No, Naruto, I don't sense a-" She began, before her frown deepened. "Wait... I sense Leaf ninjas!" She said, and I nodded, creeping up the steps. Reaching the top, I noticed that the door was slightly ajar. Climbing up behind me, Kurama looked at the door, before looking at me. Swallowing, I reached for my kunai and slowly crept inside, fully prepared for a fight; Kurama right next to me.


	8. Chapter 8

_Naruto's POV_

Kurama and I crept up the stairs. Noticing the door was slightly ajar, I took a deep breath, all my muscles tense and prepared for a fight. Looking back at Kurama, I nodded, before gently pushing on the door, causing it to open farther. Taking another deep breath, I stepped inside. From around the corner I could sense there were at least five ninjas. Pausing for a few seconds, I frowned slightly. Trying to get a better sense of who was inside, I could tell that they were from the Leaf, but besides that, I couldn't tell who they were. Whoever they were, they seemed familiar. Shaking it off, I steeled myself once again, before taking a step forward. Or at least I would have, if I were able to move. Neither my arms nor my legs seemed to respond to my attempts to move them. Kurama, who had stopped right next to me, looked at me in confusion. "Hey, what's the hold up?" She whispered, and I looked at my feet, noticing a shadowy line coming from around the corner. Confused as to why I wasn't moving, she went to put her hand on my shoulder.

"Wait!" I tried to warn her, but it was too late. Placing her hand on my shoulder, our shadows merged, and the shadowy line connected to her shadow as well. Flinching slightly, she realized that she was caught as well. Realizing that we were already noticed, I sighed. "Who's here?!" I called, and for a few seconds, there was only silence, before someone began to come out from around the corner.

"Naruto?" They asked, and I quickly recognized who it was.

"Shikamaru? What are you doing here?" I asked, and he released his jutsu, allowing us to move once again; Gesturing for us to follow him to where I assume the others were. Looking at Kurama, I shrugged, before we followed him around the corner. As we stepped into the living area, I was surprised to see Choji, Ino, Akamaru, Kiba, and Hinata. Looking up from her place on the couch, Hinata blushed when she saw me.

"N-Naruto... It's good to s-" She began, before Kiba jumped up.

"Naruto! We were starting to worry that you had already moved on! How have you been, and who's the girl, your girlfriend?" He asked, cutting Hinata off. Upon hearing this, Hinata flinched slightly. Clearing my throat nervously, I looked at Kurama.

"Y-yeah, I guess you could say that." I said, and everyone looked at me in shock. "Guys, this is Kurama." I said, gesturing to her, while she gave a slight nod, uninterested now that everything was deemed safe. Shikamaru suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Kurama? Why does that sound familiar?" He asked, and I looked around nervously. "I think my father mentioned a name like that before. Back when he was telling me about the day..." He began, before his eyes widened, and he looked at Kurama. Sighing, I looked at her and gave her a nod. Grinning, she stepped away from the wall.

"It's about time! I was beginning to get tired of holding that disguise!" She said, lifting her hands up in front of her and releasing the jutsu; A cloud of smoke filling the air. As the air cleared, everyone tensed when they saw her. Seeing their reaction, she chuckled. "As much as I love seeing all of your terrified expressions, relax. I have no intentions of causing any trouble." She said.

"Yeah? And why should we believe a word you say?" Kiba said, positioning his hands in preparation in case Kurama tried anything, and she only rolled her eyes.

"For one, I don't exactly have all my power." She said, before glancing my way. "Also, I doubt Naruto would appreciate me killing his friends." She said, and Shikamaru relaxed slightly, before frowning.

"So it's true... Lady Tsunade said you two seemed close, but for you two to be together like this... Is that why you released the seal?" He asked, and I looked at him in surprise.

"Is that what you think? Do you really think I would release the seal just like that? I didn't release the seal!" I said, and he frowned again.

"Then how did the Ninetails escape? That seal was placed by the Fourth Hokage!" He said, and I looked away, not meeting anyone's eyes. Sensing my uncomfortableness, Kurama rolled her eyes.

"I was able to get loose because of a loophole that only high leveled Bijus would be aware of. Being the Queen of the Bijus made it easy." She said, and Shikamaru looked interested. Before he could ask any more question however, I jumped in.

"So what are you all doing here? I hope you're not here to bring me back to the village." I said quickly. Seeing what I was trying to do, Shikamaru just sighed, before shaking his head.

"No... We aren't trying to bring you back." He said, placing his hands in his pockets. "After you haven't been seen in the village since your birthday, I decided to check up on you, except, by the time I got to your house, you were already gone, and your house was empty. I asked Lady Tsunade if she knew where you were, and she said you had been exiled." He said, and Ino nodded.

"Yeah, we didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. When we heard that you had been exiled, we were worried about you." She said, and Kurama scoffed.

"Right, because you sure care about Naruto on his birthday." She said, before going on. "It's funny; Someone who's given him so much trouble was the only one who was there, while all of his so called friends avoided him like the plague!" She said, and I shot her a sharp look.

"Kurama! I'm sure they just had things they needed to do. As for you being there, you couldn't _not_ be, you were sealed inside of me!" I said. After a few seconds, I noticed that the others were being silent. After another few seconds, Hinata sighed.

"S-she's not wrong..." She said, and I looked at her in surprise.

"So you you all _were_ avoiding me?" I asked, and she looked down. Nodding, I sighed, looking away. "I-I get it. I guess it _would_ be hard to look at me the same on that day..." I said, before shaking my head and changing the subject. "So... How are things in the village since I left? It hasn't been that long, but a lot can change in a few days." I said, and Hinata frowned.

"N-Naruto..." She began with sadness in her eyes, before she was interrupted once again.

"Lady Tsunade is getting the others to drive you away if they see you. She said that she gave you the chance to return, but you chose not to. I don't understand why you would turn down the chance to come back." Shikamaru said, and I sighed.

"Think about it; Now that Kurama is free, there's no way I could return. A lot of people lost friends and family in that attack; Nobody would be able to accept us, and I wouldn't expect them to. And if I didn't make it clear before, I'm not going anywhere without her." I said, gesturing to Kurama. Looking at me for a few seconds, Shikamaru sighed and nodded.

"I guess I could see your point. So what do you plan on doing? I don't know if you realize this, but you can't stay here permanently when you're a rogue ninja. You may be friends with Gaara, and he may be the Kazekage, but he still answers to the Land of Wind's Feudal Lord, and when he catches on to what is going on, there will be nothing Gaara can do to let you stay." He said, and I nodded.

"I'm aware of this. Gaara gave us a week to stay here. I have a good idea of where I plan on going next, but in the meantime, for the remainder of the week, I plan on training and helping around the Hidden Sand." I said, and Shikamaru nodded in understanding.

"At least you have a plan and aren't just charging forward like you used to do." He said, before sighing and looking around. "Well, we should get going back to the Leaf before Lady Tsunade gets angry. Listen, all of us are trying to change her mind about getting us all to chase you away, hopefully you'll be able to stop by the village again one day." He said, and I nodded as everyone began to stand.

"Hopefully; Part of my plans will involve having to go through the Land of Fire, and we'll have to come pretty close to the village as we pass by." I said, and Shikamaru raised a brow.

"Really? Where exactly are you planning on going?" He asked, and I sighed.

"Just to pay a visit to some old friends of Team Seven near the Hidden Mist. After that, we'll officially drop off the radar." I said, and he frowned slightly, before nodding.

"Well, it was nice seeing you again, Naruto; Glad to see you're ok." He said, before leading the way to the door.

"H-hey Naruto?" Hinata asked, as the others exited the apartment. Sighing, I looked at her questioningly. Looking away for a few seconds, she seemed to gather her nerve. "A-are you two really together?" She asked, and I frowned.

"Yes; We are. Why?" I asked, and she flinched slightly, looking saddened, before giving a weak smile.

"Oh... N-no reason; I was just wondering... I'm happy for you two!" She said, turning and making her way out the door. Watching her go, I shook my head in confusion.

"Well that was weird... Then again, Hinata's always acted a bit weird." I said, and Kurama nodded, before sighing.

"She likes you." She said, and I looked at her in surprise.

"What? No..." I said, and she nodded.

"Judging by how broken up about us being together she was, I'd say she's liked you for a while." She went on, and I frowned. That certainly would explain her behavior whenever she was near me. "So, what are these plans you came up with? You never told me about any plans." She said, and I sighed.

"Well, like I said to Shikamaru, I plan on us stopping by and visiting a few friends near the Hidden Mist. As for the other plans, you mentioned that I could possibly learn Sage mode in the Land of Tofu, so I was thinking we could go there." I said, and she looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before throwing herself on the bed.

"That certainly sounds like a good set of plans for the time being." She said, before stretching. "Well are you getting in bed, or are you just going to stand there?" She said, letting out a yawn. Looking out the window, I shook my head.

"Actually, it's not that late, and I'm not that tired. I may just go back out." I said, and she frowned, sitting back up.

"Really? I guess I can put off that nap for later; Where did you want to go?" She asked, and I once again shook my head.

"No. You get some sleep, I'll go out by myself." I said, and she looked at me in confusion, concern etched on her face.

"What? Why? Are you ok?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, I'm ok... I just need some time alone. Plus, I doubt you'd want to do charity work around the village; I'm going to check if anyone needs any help." I said, and she looked at me for a few seconds, before sighing.

"Alright, if you're sure you're ok..." She said, and I nodded again.

"Don't worry, I'll be back soon." I said, before heading for the door. The whole time, I could feel her worried gaze on the back of my neck. Exiting the apartment and closing the door, I sighed, looking around the village. For it still being fairly early, there was surprisingly hardly any people around. Wiping my forehead as the heat immediately hit me after being inside, I guessed that the heat was the main reason for the seemingly empty streets. Sighing, I began heading for Gaara's office, seeing if he may have any work for me. Reaching the building in the center of the village that served as the town hall, I took a breath, before opening the doors and stepping inside. Walking down the hallway, I soon came upon the door that marked the Kazekage's office. In front of it, stood Temari, who as soon as she saw me, waved at me.

"Oh, hey Naruto! Are you here to see Gaara?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Yes; Is that ok?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Of course; Let me just let him know you're here." She said, before turning towards the door. Knocking, she cleared her throat. "Gaara; Naruto's here, and he wants to see you!" She said, and a few seconds later his voice filtered through the wooden door in confirmation. Giving me a smile, she opened the door, ushering me inside, before closing the door behind me. Gesturing towards a chair for me to sit down, he looked at me intently.

"So, what do you want to talk about, Naruto, and where's Kurama?" He asked.

"She's at the apartment. I needed some time to myself to think about some things, and I was hoping you may have some work I could do." I said, and he frowned slightly, looking thoughtful for a few seconds.

"What happened?" He asked, sounding concerned, and I sighed.

"Well, I'm sure you're aware of Shikamaru and the others being here just a bit earlier." I said, and he nodded. "It turns out that even they couldn't get over the fact that Kurama was locked inside me; They even avoided me on my birthday..." I said, and he looked at me in surprise.

"Really? Are you sure they avoided you? That doesn't really sound like them." He said, and I nodded.

"I'm sure... Hinata came right out and said so." I said, and he frowned, shaking his head and looking surprised.

"They didn't really seem like they'd hold that against you like that, but I guess you never really know until it comes up... Well, let's see; It's usually only for the Hidden Sand ANBU and other Hidden Sand shinobi, but we could use more eyes to guard the village if you're interested. Nothing much really happens, so it'd be a good time to clear your head." He said, and I nodded thoughtfully.

"That'd be perfect." I said. "So, do I just head for the entrance of the village?"

"Yes, just head there and talk to Kankoro; He'll tell you what you need to do." He said, and I nodded, getting ready to head out, before he called me back. "Wait!" He said, and I turned around, looking at him in confusion. "I've been thinking about how your birthday just went by, and I was thinking about something I may be able to give you." He said, and I went to stop him, but he went on. "I know Kurama is no longer inside of you, but can you still feel any of her chakra?" He asked, and I continued to look at him in confusion.

"Yeah... She said that when she escaped, she left behind quite a bit of her chakra. She's even trying to teach me some new techniques that could utilize it. Why are you asking?" I asked, and he reached into his desk.

"Like I said before, I was thinking on what I might be able to give you, when I remembered being told about a man who specializes in crafting weapons specifically for Jinchūrikis. While I fight only using sand, I still thought that that information could be useful, so I wrote down where he could be found." He said, grabbing a piece of paper and handing it to me. "I'm not sure if you'll be in that area in your travels, but if you are, and you get the chance, you should check it out." He said, and I looked at the paper, where an address was written down.

"Yeah, this is pretty close to where we are planning to go next, so we may just check it out." I said, and Gaara looked at me in surprise.

"So, you've already come up with plans? That certainly didn't take that long." He said, and I nodded.

"It's not much, but I plan on saying goodbye to a few friends of my former team, before dropping off the map. Kurama has something cool planned, but I'm not really able to say much more than that." I said, and he nodded in understanding.

"At least you have an idea of what to do next." He said, before sitting back in his chair. "Well, if you're interested in the lookout job, you should head out now; I should be getting back to my work." He said, and I stood up.

"Yeah, thanks for letting me do this job; And thanks for letting Kurama and I stay here for a bit." I said, and he shook his head.

"Don't mention it." He said, and I gave him a smile, before walking towards the door. Opening it and waving goodbye to Temari, I headed out of the Kazekage's office and out into the village. The temperature having dropped, more people began exiting their houses, confirming my theory from before. Walking through the village, I eventually reached the stone wall that marked the entrance. Noticing a ladder, I climbed to the top of the wall. Noticing me as I reached the top, Kankoro looked at me in surprise and confusion.

"Naruto? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be up here." He said, and Maki and a few others looked away from the desert to see what was going on.

"I asked Gaara if there was any work I might be able to do to help, and he said I could help guard the village." I said, and he sighed.

"Of course he did... Not that I have anything against you Naruto, but this really is something that should be done by shinobi of the Sand." He said, and Maki rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on Kankoro. There's no rule stating a non Sand shinobi can't help; If Lord Gaara has trust in Naruto, that should be all that matters. Plus, Naruto was a big help during the Akatsuki threat." She said, and Kankoro sighed.

"Fine... Then just stand over here and keep an eye on that dune." He said, and I nodded, getting to where I was supposed to. After a few seconds, Kankoro looked at me in confusion. "Why are you even doing this job? Nothing much happens, so it isn't a very interesting job." He said, and I frowned slightly.

"I needed somewhere I could just think. Plus, like I said when we got to the hidden Sand, I don't want to feel like we're freeloading; I'm willing to do any job if it would help." I said, and Kankoro nodded in understanding. Maki on the other hand, looked at me in concern.

"Did something happen?" She asked, and I hesitated for a few seconds before frowning again.

"Just something with who I thought were my friends." I said, and Kankoro looked at me in surprise.

"You mean Shikamaru and the others?" He asked, and I sighed, before nodding.

"Yeah, it turns out that even they were like the other villagers. They had no problems avoiding me on my birthday." I said, and Kankoro shook his head.

"Ouch..." He said. "Looking at them, it's hard to believe they'd do something like that; Especially that Hyuuga girl. The way she always looked at you, I always assumed she liked you..." He said, before looking thoughtful. "How old are you, by the way?" He asked, and I looked at him in confusion.

"Nineteen... Why, what does that have to do with anything?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Good; I wanted to make sure you were old enough before I gave you any advice." He said, and I continued to look at him in confusion. "It's not the best advice, but it works for me. I suggest you stop by the bar near here and get some sake. Alcohol always helps make people feel better." He said, and I frowned.

"I-I don't know..." I said, not at all confident with my alcohol tolerance. Then again, the idea of dulling my self pity did sound good. "Maybe I will..." I said.

"If you do, just be careful not to drink too much." Maki said, and I nodded, before turning back towards the desert, watching the dune like I was supposed to. After about an hour, the sun began to sink, and everyone on top of the wall began to stand. Looking at them in confusion, I turned towards Kankoro and Maki, who remained sitting.

"What's going on?" I asked, and Kankoro looked away from the desert and towards me.

"Shift change. The sun is beginning to go down, and shinobi who can see clearly even at night are being switched in. You're free to go now; Thanks for the help." He said, and I blinked.

"Are you sure? I could stay longer..." I said, and he looked at me thoughtfully.

"Unless you can see clearly at night, I'm sure. Go and relax; I'll let Gaara know that you were here, and you'll get paid tomorrow for your work." He said, and I shook my head, much to his confusion.

"Don't worry about any pay; I didn't do it to get paid. I needed to clear my head and repay Gaara for letting us stay." I said, before standing and stretching. "Anyways, if you're sure I can get going, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I said, before climbing down. Reaching the ground, I asked one of the villagers for directions, before heading for the bar, taking Kankoro's advice.

 _Kurama's POV_

Slowly opening my eyes and stretching, I noticed how dark the room had gotten. Looking around, I also noticed that Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Sighing, I got out of bed."Ok my ass! I knew something wasn't right..."I mumbled, putting on my pants and straightening my shirt. Activating my disguise, I went out, keeping an eye out for Naruto. The streets were dotted with random people talking and laughing amongst themselves, and I had to weave between a few people as I headed to where I'm sure Naruto would have been seen. Making my way into the Kazekage's building, I walked right up to the door to his office, only to be stopped by the Temari girl from before.

"W-wait!" She said, and I thought about ignoring her, before turning to look at her, sighing and raising an eyebrow. "Gaara is in a meeting with the village advisors right now. You'll have to wait until he's finished if you want to talk to him." She said, and I rolled my eyes.

"Do you think I care about some stupid meeting? No; All I want to know is where Gaara sent Naruto." I said, and she perked up slightly.

"Oh! If that's all you want, there's no reason to bother Gaara. If I remember correctly, Naruto went to help guard the village at the entrance." She said, and I blinked.

"Hmph... Thanks I guess..." I said, and she nodded, before looking at me questioningly.

"Wait, does he have good eyesight in the dark?" She asked, and I looked at her in confusion.

"I don't know. As far as I know, he has average eyesight. Why?" I asked, annoyed at this seemingly pointless small talk. Temari frowned, looking thoughtful.

"They usually switch shifts when it gets dark to people that can see well at night. If Naruto has average eyesight, he should have been back by now." She said, and I shifted my weight to my other foot, feeling uneasy. Noticing this, Temari looked at me with concern. "Are you ok?" She asked, and without answering, I turned and hurried out, leaving her to watch me in confusion. Exiting the building, I hurried for the entrance to the village. Reaching the stone wall, I began climbing up a ladder attached to the stone. Getting to the top, I looked around, only to recognize Kankoro, the man in black from before. Hearing someone climb the ladder, he turned.

"Kurama? What are you doing here?" He asked, and I looked around at the people watching the desert.

"Where's Naruto? I was told he was here." I said, and Kankoro closed his eyes, letting out a sigh.

"He hasn't returned yet?" He asked, before looking at the woman next to him. "Have you checked the village bar?" He asked, and I looked at him blankly.

"A bar..." I said, and he looked away. Blinking, my blank look turned to rage. "You sent him to a _bar_?! Why in hell would you do that?!" I demanded, and he looked back at me with quite a bit of defiance in his eyes.

"Why wouldn't I, he looked like he needed it! He had a lot on his mind..." He said, and I sighed.

"So let me get this straight... You see someone who is going through some kind of mental turmoil, and you send them to a _bar_?" I ask, rubbing my eyes. "Where is this bar?" I demanded, and he looked at me.

"You don't seem to have a lot of faith in Naruto..." He said, and I looked at him in anger.

"Don't you dare bring faith into this. You seem to forget that I have spent the last _nineteen_ years sealed inside of him. I know for a _fact_ that Naruto would try anything if he thought it would help him... Even drink until he passes out. So I'm only going to ask this once more; Where is this bar?" I repeated, and the woman beside Kankoro nodded.

"When you first head into the village, turn left, and you should come across the bar if you keep going straight." She said, and I nodded, before turning around. As I went to climb down the ladder, the woman called me back. "Wait! Kurama was it?" She asked, and I once again nodded. "Is it true that his friends were ignoring him?" She asked, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Is that what was on his mind?" I asked, and she nodded, causing me to sigh. "Yeah, it's true." I said, and she shook her head.

"That really is a shame. He seems like a hardworking shinobi, I can't understand why people can't just get past things like whether someone is a Jinchūriki." She said, and I looked at her in surprise for a few seconds, before grinning slightly and giving a final nod. Climbing down, I jumped the last few rungs, landing on the ground and immediately making my way towards the bar. After making a left and continuing forward like that woman had said, I eventually reached what I assumed was the bar in question. Walking up to the front doors, I took a deep breath, before pushing them open and walking inside, the smell of strong alcohol and food filling the air. Looking around, I sighed when I saw the familiar spiky yellow hair belonging to Naruto, who was sitting at the counter. Walking up to him, I frowned.

"Naruto?" I asked, and he flinched upon hearing his name, before turning around to see who was talking to him.

"Oh, heeey Kurama!" He said, slurring slightly; A large, goofy grin on his face. Frowning, I sighed once again.

"Did you actually get drunk?" I asked, and he looked down at the glass bottle that was on the counter next to him, before trying to hide it.

"Noooo..." He said, and I quickly grabbed the almost empty bottle from him that read 'Phoenix Fire Sake'.

"Oh, Naruto..." I said, half under my breath as I read the alcohol percentage. This definitely wasn't a drink for beginners like him. Looking up at the bartender, I glared at him, much to his confusion. "How could you sell this stuff to him?!" I demanded, and he looked at me in confusion.

"What's the problem? It's alcohol..." He said, and I continued to glare at him.

"I mean, how could you sell something this strong to someone whose never drank before!" I snapped, and he gave Naruto an appraising look.

"Well, he looks fine to me..." He said, and I looked at him in shock.

"That isn't the point! As a bartender, when you see someone who looks new to drinking, and they order something like this, aren't you supposed to warn them that it's strong?!" I asked, and he sighed, starting to look annoyed.

"Look lady, my job isn't to do anything other than get someone's age, sell alcohol, and earn money. If someone doesn't have the common sense to check the alcohol percentage, that's not my problem. Now either buy something, or get out; I have work to do!" He said, and I had to resist the urge to deck him. Taking a calming breath, I grabbed Naruto's arm, and helped him up.

"Come on, let's get back to the apartment, Naruto." I said, and he began to resist slightly, trying to reach for the bottle that was on the counter.

"B-but I'm not finished yet..." He whined, and I sighed.

"Trust me, yes you are." I said, and he mumbled to himself, before nodding.

"Ok..." He said, as we began leaving the bar, Naruto swaying slightly until I wrapped an arm around him to keep him steady. Looking at him as we slowly made our way down the streets, I couldn't help but frown, feeling bad for what was happening to him.

"H-hey, why are you looking so serious...? We should be having... Fun!" He said, cutting himself off mid sentence with a small hiccup. "N-now that we're no longer a part of a village, we can go on adventures of our own!" He said, and I sighed.

"Naruto... Why did you go out and get drunk? Was it because of what happened earlier with your friends?" I asked, and his goofy grin slowly disappeared from his face. If I hadn't seen how drunk he actually was, I would say he almost looked completely sober.

"What friends?" He asked, and I frowned again. I hated seeing him this way. "If you mean those so called friends who avoided me, you were right; They never were my friends in the first place..." He said, and I shook my head.

"No, I don't think I was right. They came all the way here just to see if you were ok, and they're trying their best to get you to be able to return without being chased away. They might have flaws, but they _are_ your friends." I said, and he just huffed. Walking the rest of the way to the apartment in silence, I helped him up the steps and through the door; Helping him into bed. Locking the door behind us, I dropped my illusion, before hopping into bed next to him, wrapping my tails around him protectively. Sighing in content, he grabbed one of my tails, causing me to jump slightly.

"H-has anyone ever told you that you're fluffy?" He asked, and I glared at him halfheartedly for being rough with my tail, before chuckling slightly.

"No, Naruto; No one has ever said I was 'fluffy'. Now get some sleep, you need it..." I said, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer. He just mumbled, before slowly drifting off into a drunken sleep.

 **Overly cheesy ending is cheesy. Hello everybody, I was finally able to push through my writer's block and get chapter 8 completed. I still have a bit of writer's block, but hopefully it won't last too long.**

 **As I finished this chapter, I came up with an idea. If any of you have _any_ questions about this story, please put them in the review section, and I will answer them in the next chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, I will see you in the next chapter!**

 **~spudbud16**


	9. Chapter 9

_Naruto's POV_

Slowly opening my eyes, I winced, letting out a groan as the sun shown through the windows, causing a sharp pain to go through my head. Sitting up, I instantly regretted it, as my stomach seemed to flip. Hopping out of bed, I rushed to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet, immediately getting sick. After staying hunched in front of the toilet for a few minutes, I heard quiet footsteps behind me.

"Well; I was going to ask you how you were feeling, but I guess I got my answer." She said, before walking over and sitting next to me, rubbing my back. "Still, how are you doing?" She asked, looking at me, concern in her voice. Wiping my mouth, I grimaced.

"Everything's spinning... What happened?" I asked, and she looked at me in surprise.

"Do you not remember last night?" She asked, and I frowned. My thoughts were all jumbled up, and my memories were a bit hazy.

"I... Remember helping out with watching the village; Being told that I could go; But after that, everything's a blur..." I said, and she sighed, shaking her head.

"Well; You decided to go to the bar... And treated yourself to the highest proof alcohol you could get." She said, getting up and heading into the bedroom area; Grabbing something and coming back, only to hand me an almost empty bottle labeled 'Phoenix Fire' Sake. Seeing the alcohol percentage, I couldn't help but to groan again.

"Did I seriously drink all of this?" I asked, and Kurama nodded.

"By the time I found you, you were already drunk, and that was all that was left." She said, before sighing. "So... Do you want to talk about it?" She asked while leading me back to bed now that I wasn't getting sick anymore.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, looking at her hesitantly, and she sighed.

"About why you decided to go get drunk..." She said, and I frowned, shaking my head.

"I'd rather not." I said, laying back down, as Kurama shut the curtains, before looking back at me.

"Well, with you having a hangover like you do, you're not doing anything but resting in bed!" She said, and I winced at her increase in volume. Sighing, she lowered her voice. "Look... I know it was because of what your friends said. You may not think they are really your friends, but they are." She said, and I looked at her in surprise for a few seconds, before shaking my head.

"That isn't what you said before." I said, and she sighed.

"Yeah, well I was wrong!" She said, and I once again shook my head.

"Actually, you were right, and I was just to gullible to see the truth..." I said, and she looked at me sadly.

"Naruto..." She said, before wrapping a tail around me. "You aren't gullible... Well, maybe a bit, but you weren't being gullible this time; If they weren't your friends, they wouldn't have stopped by to check on you." She said, and I mumbled a bit, before rubbing my head due to a splitting headache. Frowning, Kurama got up, before heading to the kitchen area and grabbing a cup, filling it up with water. Coming back over and climbing into bed, she handed me the cup, before gently pulling me back so that the back of my head was resting against her breasts. "Here, drink some water, then try to get some more sleep." She said, giving me a caring smile, and I sighed, gulping down the water. Setting the cup down, I began getting comfortable, before looking up at Kurama, who wrapped her arms around me, bringing the blankets over us. "That's it; Just get some more sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up..." She said, and I nodded, closing my eyes.

 _Kurama's POV_

Watching Naruto slowly drift off to sleep, I frowned, not being able to help feeling bad for him. Finding out that his friends had been avoiding him had been a hard blow for him; Enough that he'd went out and gotten himself drunk. Looking over at the bottle of alcohol I had set on my side of the bed, I raised an eyebrow, feeling curious as to what it tasted like. Picking it up carefully, I hesitated, before taking a quick sip, my eyes widening slightly. Well, at least it could be said that he had good tastes in alcohol. Licking my lips, I gulped down the rest, not having to worry about the alcohol content due to being a Biju. Sighing in content and licking my lips, I set the empty bottle back on the bedside table, before once again getting comfortable. Finding a good position, I laid back down, looking down at Naruto, who was now fast asleep. Brushing a lock of hair from his face, I wrapped my arms a bit tighter around him, pulling the blankets over us and bringing him a bit closer. Having nothing else to do, I closed my eyes, deciding to catch some more sleep as well.

After what only seemed like a few seconds, I was jolted awake by a knock on the door. Looking at the shadows being cast across the floor, I could tell it had been longer. Looking down at Naruto, he was still fast asleep. Another knock a few seconds later caused me to sigh, and I slowly slid out of bed, careful not to wake Naruto. Slowly walking over to the door, I looked out the peephole, before opening the door, not worrying about putting up my disguise as I recognized who was on the other side. Opening the door, I raised an eyebrow, coming face to face with Kankoro and the girl from last night.

"Yes? What do you want?" I asked, not in the mood for company. The girl looked at me in surprise for a few seconds, before taking a step back.

"K-Kurama?" She asked, and I realized she had never seen my real form. Sighing, I rolled my eyes.

"Yes. Again, what do you two want?" I asked, and Kankoro nodded.

"How's Naruto? We didn't spot any of you today, and when we asked the bartender, he said a woman dragged him away." He said, and I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, I had to guide him home after he downed a bottle of 'Phoenix Fire'. He's currently sleeping off a hangover." I said, and they flinched slightly, before sighing.

"We figured something like that might have happened, so we made some food that might help." The girl said, handing me a small box of scrambled eggs, as well as a small cup of what looked and smelled like miso soup. Raising an eyebrow again, I gave the girl an appreciative look.

"Oh, um, thanks..." I began, looking at her, and the woman raised an eyebrow, before giving a small start.

"Oh! I never introduced myself, did I? I'm Maki!" She said, raising a hand out to shake mine. Setting down the containers next to the door, I awkwardly shook her hand.

"So... Naruto's ok? I honestly didn't mean for anything like this to happen." Kankoro said, and I gave him a long look, before sighing, closing my eyes.

"He'll be fine; He just needs to get some rest. In fact, by the time he wakes up, he should be fine. He's just going through something that alcohol won't just fix." I said, and he nodded, before looking at me in surprise.

"You know, you don't seem like how the legends describe you." He said. "And certainly nothing like the tailed beast inside of Gaara." He said, and I looked thoughtful for a few seconds, before realizing who he was talking about.

"Are you seriously comparing me to the one tails? I am nothing like Shukaku! I am the Queen of the Bijus!" I said, and he raised his hands up.

"Hey, I was just making an observation... Anyways, we should get going; We just wanted to see how Naruto was doing before we headed over to guard the village entrance." He said, and the girl named Maki spoke up.

"Please make sure to let him know we stopped by, and that we hope he feels better." She said, and I nodded as they turned to leave. Closing the door, I picked up the food, bringing it into the bedroom.

"Who was at the door?" A voice asked, and I looked up in surprise, only to see that Naruto was sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Oh, it was Kankoro, as well as that Maki girl. They were wondering how you were doing, and they brought you some food." I said, placing the food next to him on the bedside table. Looking at it in interest, he slowly sat up more. "So, how are you feeling? You weren't doing so well this morning." I said, and he paused in his reaching for the miso soup for a few seconds.

"Well, my head feels a lot better, and I don't feel like getting sick." He said, grabbing the dish of eggs, before looking at me and holding it out. "Want some?" He asked, and I shook my head. Shrugging, he took a bite. "Basically, I'm feeling as good as new." He continued, and I nodded in slight relief.

"I'm glad; You really looked like shit earlier!" I said, and he looked at me in annoyance.

"Gee, thanks..." He said, before sighing. "Though you aren't wrong; I certainly _felt_ like that." He said, going silent as he continued to eat. Breaking the silence, I cleared my throat.

"So... Have you decided where we're going to go and what we're going to do? I mean, after we visit these friends of yours near the Hidden Mist and you learn sage mode, what then? Do you have any plans?" I asked, and he frowned, looking thoughtful for a few seconds.

"Honestly, I was just planning on us traveling around. Being part of a village meant we could never really do that." He said, and I nodded, before frowning slightly.

"Ok, but what about after that? What about money? Ryō is going to be a bit harder to come across honestly." I said, and he again looked thoughtful, before shrugging.

"We could always freelance... I'm sure we could find people who need jobs done for them." He said, and I nodded once again.

"I guess that could work..." I said, as he finished off his eggs, setting down the dish and sitting back with a contented sigh. Sitting in silence for a bit, we watched as the room gradually grew darker; The sun slowly sinking over the horizon. As the streetlights kicked on, Naruto slowly stood up, looking at me.

"Well, I've been in bed for long enough, I could use some fresh air; Want to come?" He asked, and I thought about telling him he should rest up a bit more, before sighing.

"You know what? Sure." I said, and he smiled, grabbing his jumpsuit and putting it on, before zipping it up and walking to the door. Following him, we made our way out of the apartment, heading into the village. Looking up at the sky, Naruto let out a sigh, and I looked at him in confusion. "What is it?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"Oh, it's nothing, I'm just a little excited about heading out again." He said, and I continued to look at him. "You know, at first I was sad about having to leave the Hidden Leaf, but now I'm actually happy. Before, the only way we were allowed to leave was if we had a mission, but now, we can go anywhere!" He said, and I gave him a weak smile.

"I guess that's true; It's just a shame it had to happen this way." I said, and he shrugged.

"Eh, it was bound to happen eventually." He said, before continuing. "I'm just glad I'm not alone." He said, and I blinked, before giving him a smile.

"Right... So, what did you want to do?" I asked, and he once again shrugged, continuing to look at the stars.

"Honestly, I just felt like getting some fresh air after being inside all day." He said, and I looked up at the stars as well. After a few seconds, he looked at me. "Hey Kurama, I have a question I've been meaning to ask you. Before, you mentioned an 'Old Man Six Paths'. Did you mean the Sage of Six Paths?" He asked, and I sighed in content at the fond memories I had of the man who had raised the other Bijuus and I.

"One and the same, though we were never so formal with him." I said, and Naruto looked surprised.

"I always thought he was just a legend! You actually knew him? What was he like?" He asked, looking at me in interest. Shrugging, I continued to walk next to him, thinking about the old man who raised us.

"Well, I guess you could say he was a father figure to me and the others." I said, and Naruto looked at me in confusion. "You see, at first, the others and I were once one being known only as the Ten Tails. He separated us into nine different beings and raised us... He even gave us each names." I said, trailing off. "Anyways, that's probably not what you wanted to know about." I said, and he shook his head, still looking interested.

"No no, that's ok, go on!" He said, and I looked at him for a few seconds, before continuing.

"He was a fair and trusting man. He believed that we would find someone who we could trust as much as him, and who would show us what _true_ power was. Seeing how humans were, I didn't really believe him." I said, and Naruto looked at me in confusion.

"But you trust me, right?" He asked, and I looked at him with a deadpan look.

"What kind of question is that? Do you even have to ask? Of course I trust you!" I said, before blinking. "In fact... For some reason, you remind me a lot of the old man..." I said, and he blinked, looking surprised.

"R-really?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah... Maybe there's some relation..." I said, before sighing.

"What ever happened to him, if you don't mind me asking?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"Splitting us up into nine beings certainly didn't help. It weakened him greatly, and forced him into an extended bed rest. However, it was old age that eventually got him; We didn't call him 'Old Man Six Paths' for nothing." I said, and he nodded in understanding. "Anyways, maybe I'll tell you more about him later." I said, and he once again nodded. After walking around for a bit longer, my stomach began to growl, and Naruto looked up at me in confusion.

"I thought you weren't hungry; Why didn't you want any of the food from before?" He asked, and I frowned.

"I never once said I wasn't hungry, I just wasn't going to eat the food that was made to help you feel better!" I said, and he rolled his eyes slightly.

"Honestly I wouldn't have minded, but if you want, we could always stop and get some tofu." He said, and I perked up slightly, before remembering that we needed to save Ryō if we wanted to get anywhere.

"Wait, how much Ryō do you have? Remember, it has to last until we can find work." I said, and he nodded.

"I know, and don't worry, we have plenty left. Remember, I had to live by myself, so I got accustomed to saving, and as a result, I've saved a lot. Now do you want tofu or not?" He said, and I bit my lip, before nodding. "Then come on." He said, and we began making our way to the shop from before. Making it to the little shop, we opened the door and walked inside, the woman behind the counter looked up.

"Welcome!" She said, before recognizing us from before. "Oh, hello again! What can I get you two?" She asked, and Naruto stepped forward.

"Hello, can we get three things of tofu?" He asked, and the woman nodded.

"Certainly!" She said, grabbing three blocks of tofu, putting them in a bag and sliding them to him as she took the money. "You must really like tofu..." She commented, and Naruto shrugged.

"Honestly, I'm not much of a tofu eater, but Kurama loves it!" He said, passing the bag to me. The woman nodded, smiling as I immediately opened the wrapping on one and began to eat.

"Well that's ok, I'm happy someone likes it." She said, and I gave an affirmative nod.

"Well, we should get going; Hope you have a good night." Naruto said, and the woman nodded and smiled.

"Ok, and thanks, you too." She said, as we began to leave the shop. Finishing the first block of tofu, I turned to Naruto.

"So, what do you want to do now? It's getting late, we could head back to the apartment..." I said, looking up, seeing that the moon was fully in view. He shrugged, letting out a sigh.

"We could, but I'm not really tired, are you?" He asked, and I frowned, shaking my head. Sighing again, he looked thoughtful.

"Well, since you're feeling better, we could always go to the cave and train..." I said, and he immediately seemed to perk up slightly.

"Really?" He asked, and I nodded.

"I don't see a reason not to; You rested, and you're feeling better. If you wanted to get some more training in on the Rasengan, we can." I said, and he immediately nodded.

"That would be awesome!" He said, and I couldn't help but to chuckle at his enthusiasm.

"Well then, let's get to the cave!" I said, before leading the way towards the entrance. Waving to Kankoro to let him know we were going through, we made our way out of the village and to the cave. Entering the training area and lighting the torches, Naruto began his training, summoning a few clones, before beginning to work on his Rasengan. After about an hour, he disbanded his clones, before leaning against the wall, looking worn out.

"I-I think I've got it down." He said, and I blinked. Having been watching him, I couldn't help but be surprised by how fast he had learned to successfully form and maintain the Rasengan.

"Well, color me impressed. Your father would have been impressed by how fast you were able to master his jutsu!" I said, and he smiled, looking proud of himself. "In fact, since you've successfully mastered the one handed Rasengan, I think you're ready to learn the Bijuu Bomb!" I said, and he looked at me in excitement, forgetting all about his weariness.

"Really?! Can I learn it now?" He asked, and I frowned slightly.

"Not at this very moment, no. This will take quite a bit of energy to use." I said, before sighing as I saw his disheartened look. "Though I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show you a demonstration..." I said, beginning to gather energy into the palm of my hand as he watched in interest. As if forming a Rasengan, I focused on forming the energy into a sphere; However, instead of using just normal chakra, I began to inject some of my own, and after a few seconds, the sphere in my hands began to gain a dark purple hue, and after a few more seconds, I had a successful Bijuu Bomb formed. Taking aim at one of the wooden training dummies, I chucked the ball of energy at it, destroying the dummy on contact, causing splinters to go flying.

"Woah..." Naruto said, and I smirked; Wiping the sweat from my forehead and taking a deep breathe.

"That... was the Bijuu Bomb." I said, and he looked at me in shock.

"That's what you plan on teaching me?!" He asked incredulously, and I once again smirked.

"Yep; And you wondered whether or not I trusted you..." I said teasingly, and he looked away. "Now come on, let's get back to the apartment and get some sleep so you can have the energy you need to perform that Bijuu Bomb!" I said, and he frowned.

"I'm not even tired though." He said, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Well I certainly know a way we can tire each other out..." I said, smirking and pressing against him, and he looked at me in confusion.

"How?" He asked, before he seemingly caught on, rolling his eyes.

" _Seriously_?" He asked, and I looked at him in confusion. "Is sex the only thing you think about?" He asked, and I pouted.

"No! Of course not... I also think about food!" I said, sticking my tongue out playfully, causing him to roll his eyes once again. "Either way, you didn't say no…" I said, and he smiled slightly.

"I haven't said yes either." He said, as we made our way back to the apartment. "We'll just have to see when we get there, won't we?" He asked, and I continued smirking, licking my lips in anticipation for the fun night I was positive was in store.

 **Chapter 9 is finally done. I had a bit of trouble with this chapter, as I am not used to writing Kurama's POV. Also, not sure if I made the hangover part realistic or not, as I've never had a hangover to base it off of.**

 **In other news, I really want to ask all of you for your opinions on something. I was thinking about opening a virtual tip jar of sorts (not ), and as receiving tips for fanfiction is a gray zone, I wanted to leave the decisions of whether or not I should, up to you all.**

 **Last but not least, if you have questions about this story please write them in the reviews section or PM me. I will answer them in a Q &A chapter if I get enough questions.**

 **~spudbud16**


	10. Chapter 10

_Naruto's POV_

"Ok, now start mixing in my chakra!" Kurama said, watching from a slight distance as I trained on using the Bijuu Bomb. We had arrived at the training cave early in the morning, and Kurama got to training me right away. After about an hour, I had begun to show progress, able to create a small version of what she had. Albeit weak, she had looked impressed. Doing what she instructed, I began pumping in some of her chakra; Mixing hers in with the Rasengan. For the first few seconds, everything was going well, and the orb of pure energy began to grow in size, before a searing pain shot up my palms. Flinching, I shook my hands out of reflex, sending the built up energy to go flying towards the ground and causing a small explosion in front of me, which caused me to go flying backwards. "Naruto!" She called, and I just groaned, wiping my face with my hands, only to wince as more pain shot through my palms. Seeing that I was hurt, Kurama ran over to me.

"What happened?" I asked, and she carefully helped me up, examining my palms. After a few seconds, she sighed.

"Chakra burns... You've managed to burn your hands. Luckily it doesn't look too bad." She said, and I looked at her in concern. Seeing this, she gave me a calming look. "Relax. Like I said, it doesn't look that bad; You still should be able to use jutsus in small amounts." She said, and I frowned.

"What happened?" I repeated. "Everything looked like it was going well." I said, and she once again sighed.

"You built up my chakra too fast. You have to build it up steadily. If you don't, it becomes unstable, and it becomes more likely to cause more harm than good, as seen by your hands." She said, and I nodded in understanding.

"Ok, got it! Let me try again!" I said, and she just shook her head.

"I'm afraid not." She said, before continuing when I was about to protest. "Look at your hands! They may not that badly burned, but do you really want to make them worse, because that's exactly what is going to happen if you continue right now! Just slow down and left your hands heal, alright?" She asked, and I sighed, nodding, and she gave me a small smile. "Good... Now that that is out of the way, I'm really impressed with how quickly you were able to start making Bijuu Bombs, even if they were small." She said, and I shrugged, before grinning.

"Honestly, I don't get why you were saying it was so difficult; I seemed to get the hang of it faster than I did the Rasengan." I said, and she blinked, before her gaze hardened, and she frowned.

"A-are you saying..." She said, before taking a deep breath. "You know what? I'm going to ignore the fact you think the most ultimate move a Jinchūriki can learn is easy. No, the truth is, it should have taken you a week, if not two, to get even as far as you did today. However, you seem to have an affinity to my chakra..." She said, and I looked at her in surprise.

"Really?" I asked, and she nodded, looking at me in interest.

"Yes... Though I don't sense any reason you should. You may have gotten it from the many times I attempted to take over... I mean, I had to use your body, so I had to access my chakra through you. Then again, it could have come from when that old bastard tried to quicken your training by loosening the seal..." She said, and I froze, looking at her in confusion.

"Wait... What?" I asked, and she looked at me for a few seconds, before a look of realization crossed her face.

"Oh, right... You most likely don't remember any of that..." She said, before going on. "Jeriah decided to try and speed up your training by loosening the seal. He thought that you could be stronger if you were able to hold me back and control me... Needless to say, it didn't work, and I showed him how much he fucked up. I nearly killed him; He's lucky I wasn't even at my full strength." She said, and I looked at her uncomfortably. Seeing this, she sighed. "What? Don't tell me you still care what happens to that old man!" She said, and I frowned.

"Well sort of... I mean, he taught me a lot of what I know, including the Rasengan. For a while, he was a father figure to me. He may have exiled me, but I don't think I could ever truly hate someone." I said, and she looked at me for a few seconds, before nodding in understanding. "So... You were loose? Why didn't you go on a rampage like before?" I asked, and she looked away.

"Well, like I said before, I wasn't at full strength at the time. When I took over that day, I was only able to get up to the equivalent of the Fourtails' power. At that point, the old man slapped a temporary seal on me and I lost the reigns." She said, and I nodded in understanding, before something caught my attention.

"Wait... Are you saying they had a way to reseal you? I thought they said that I had to leave because you _couldn't_ be resealed." I said, and she sighed.

"Well, yes and no." She said, before continuing when she saw my confusion. "They could have sealed me again, but only for a few seconds. Since the main seal was undone, it would only be a temporary fix. Why the sudden interest?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"No reason... I was just starting to think that they were just looking for any reason too get me out of the village." I said, and she frowned, looking away. After a few seconds, she looked back.

"So... What do you want to do now? We can't continue training today, so what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Well, we could go get something to eat. I mean, there's nothing much I have in mind to do, and we leave tomorrow, so maybe we could take this time to get something good to eat..." I said, and she perked up slightly.

"You mean like tofu?!" She asked in excitement, and I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"No, Kurama. I don't mean tofu. I was thinking of something more filling. In fact, I saw a place like the Yakiniku Q here. So, what about it? Would you be willing to go there?" I asked, and she smiled slightly, nodding.

"Sure; After we stop by the medical office and get your hands looked at and bandaged up. After all, I'm unable to heal you like I used to." She said, and I began to say something, only to be cut off. "And don't try to say you'll be ok. You may not want to admit it, but I can tell your hands are hurting." She said, and I sighed.

"Alright. Well, if I can't do any more training today, we might as well start heading into the village now." I said, and she nodded, before extinguishing the torches. As we left the cave, I decided to at least try and make some small talk. "So... We'll be going to this 'Land of Tofu' soon, what is it like, and how has nobody ever found it?" I asked, and she looked thoughtful.

"Well... The island is protected by a jutsu. Whenever a human gets too close, a storm will begin to form, and a thick fog covers the sea. Whoever got too close would be forced to turn around and head for safety." She said, and I looked at her in surprise. "As for what it's like... You'll just have to find out when we get there!" She said, sticking out her tongue.

"Wait. How are we supposed to get there? If we can't get close without it getting stormy and foggy, how are we supposed to get there by boat?" I asked, and she blinked.

"Who said anything about boats? No. That's another use for the fox summons. In order for usto get to the Land of Tofu, you'd need to get Tatsu to reverse summon us there. So whenever you're ready, all you have to do is call forth Tatsu." She said, and I nodded in understanding, before falling silent again. Eventually, making it to the village, we made our way to the medical building. Walking inside, we were approached by a medical ninja.

"Hello, can I help you with anything?" The woman asked, and Kurama, in her human disguise, more and stepped forward.

"Yes, we were training and Naruto here got some chakra burns on his hands. Is there any way you can look at his hands?" She asked, and the woman nodded.

"Certainly." She said, before holding out her hands expectantly. Hesitantly placing my hands against hers, the medical ninja began examining my palms. After a few seconds, she nodded to herself. "Hm... It doesn't really look too bad. Here; I'd say just to put some salve on your hands, then wrapping them with bandages." She said, going into one of the rooms, before returning with a small dish of a green colored salve and some cloth. Rubbing the medicine into my palms as instructed, I once again held my hands out, and the woman wrapped them up. "There we go, that should do. Try not to use any heavy chakra using jutsus for at least three days to give your hands time to heal." She said, and I gave her a thankful look.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry you had to use your supplies on a non Sand shinobi. Especially on something as small as this." I said, and she shook her head.

"Don't. There's no reason to apologize. While we don't go out of our way to help every non Sand shinobi, we would not turn them away if they they needed help and didn't mean any harm. We especially wouldn't turn away a friend of Lord Gaara." She said before giving me a smile. "Now that you've been treated, you're free to go. We have a few patients we still have to look after." She said, and I nodded, thanking her once again, before turning around and walking out of the building, Kurama right behind me.

"Great, now I feel like Bushy Brows!" I said, looking down at my arms, and Kurama just looked at me in confusion.

"Bushy Brows? Who's that?" She asked, and I sighed, continuing to look at my arms, before looking back up at her.

"His real name is Rock Lee. He knows no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu, but he makes up for that with his exceptional Taijutsu. Because of all his practicing, his arms and hands are covered completely in bandages." I explained, and she nodded.

"He sounds like an interesting person... No Ninjutsu or Genjutsu? How did he even become a ninja in the first place?" She asked, and I smiled.

"Like I said before; He more than makes up for it with his Taijutsu." I said, and she looked at me for a few seconds.

"You seem to be speaking quite fondly of him. Was he one of your previous friends?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, though Lee was was a bit different from the others. He seemed to only miss my birthdays because he is on missions. In fact, he was out of the village when I was exiled." I said, and she nodded. Falling silent, we made our way down the street and towards the restaurant I saw before. Walking inside, I waved to the woman at the front counter, and she smiled, making a note in a notebook in front of her. Taking our seat, Kurama looked at me in confusion.

"So, what is there to eat here?" She asked, and I realized that this may be her first time eating somewhere like this.

"Well, they sell wall kinds of meat here; From pork to beef, and even short ribs." I said, and she nodded, looking interested.

"What are you getting?" She asked, and I smiled.

"Oh, I plan on getting the short ribs. What about you? Do you have an idea of what you'd want to get?" I asked, and she nodded.

"I might try what you're getting..." She said, and I gave her a smile.

"Ok, how about we just get one big dish of short ribs, and if you like them, we can get more?" I suggested, and she agreed. A few minutes later, a waiter walked over to our table, a notebook in his hands

"Welcome, what can I get you today?" He asked, and I gave him a smile.

"Hello, can I get a large dish of short ribs please?" I asked, and he wrote it down in his small notebook.

"Certainly." He said, before turning to Kurama. "And what about you, Miss, would you like anything?" He asked, and she blinked, before shaking her head.

"We're sharing for right now." She said, and the waiter nodded, before putting away his notebook.

"Right, well I'll be back in a bit with your food." He said, before turning and making his way towards a room to the left. Left to ourselves, everything was quiet for a few seconds, before Kurama flashed me an uncomfortable look.

"I-I'm not used to people being this comfortable around me... I must say, I don't really like it." She said, and I looked at her in surprise and confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked, and she sighed.

"I mean, I'm the Ninetails; The Queen of the Bijuus! I'm supposed to be feared, and nobody here even realizes it. They have no idea how close they are to their possible end!" She said, and I nodded, though I still didn't get what the problem was.

"Ok, but I have to ask. Why is it so important to be feared?" I asked, and she looked at me incredulously for a few seconds.

"Aren't you even listening? I am so much stronger then them; I could end them in a second! I _should_ be feared!" She said, and seeing that I was still not getting it, she sighed. "Look, there's just something... Satisfying about being feared. Being feared means that people understand that you are stronger; That they understand their place..." She said, and I blinked, remembering growing up being feared.

"Being feared all the time... You know that I know what that's like. How could you willingly choose to live like that?" I asked, and she gave me a deadpan look.

"Are you forgetting who you're talking about?" She asked, before rolling her eyes. "You may not like the feeling, but I revelled in it! Having everyone act as if I was normal; It's as if they're mocking who I am!" She said, and I sighed.

"Well, if it means anything, I may not fear you, but I know who you really are." I said, and she looked at me for a few long seconds, before sighing, calming down.

"Hmph..." She said, though she grinned. Continuing to talk for a bit, the waiter eventually returned, carrying a plate of short ribs. Setting them down in front of us, he gave us a smile.

"Here you go. If you need anything else, just call, ok?" He said, and I nodded, thanking him. As he walked away, I picked up my chopsticks, Kurama doing the same. Quickly showing her how to prepare the meat, we began to eat. After taking a bite, Kurama immediately began scarfing down the ribs, almost being able to put Choji to shame. Not wanting to be left with nothing, I quickly began to eat as well.

After ordering a few more plates and leaving the money on the table, we had left the restaurant; Heading back to the apartment with full stomachs. Reaching the apartment, Kurama laid back in bed, rubbing her stomach and sighing in content; Releasing her disguise. "Ok, that was pretty good." She said, and I chuckled.

"Oh yeah? What ever happened to you not wanting our 'human slop'?" I asked, quoting what she had said on the day she had escaped the seal.

"Well, I guess some of your human slop is good." She said, giving a grin. After a few seconds of laying in bed, she sat back up. "So, what do you want to do now?" She asked, looking at me questioningly. Looking out the window, I could see that eit was just past midday, and the sun was making its slow crawl down the sky.

"It may still be pretty early, but let's get some sleep. Tomorrow is the day we head out." I said, taking off my over shirt, leaving me in a T-shirt as I hopped into bed. Biting her lip, she inched closer, before wrapping her arms around me and leaning close to my ear.

"Are you _sure_ you want to just... Sleep?" She asked, rubbing her body against mine. "Because we can do _so_ much more, if you want..." She said, her words barely a whisper, causing me to shiver. Looking at her for a few seconds, I couldn't help but to shake my head, much to her apparent disappointment.

"You really are insatiable, aren't you?! I swear, sex is the only thing you ever truly think about!" I said, and she gave me a lecherous grin.

"That may be, but you know you love me!" She said, before leaning forward and tilting her head, capturing my lips with hers. After a minute or two, we separated, and I looked her in the eyes, panting slightly.

"So, you're not going to be satisfied until I pleasure you, are you?" I asked, and she chuckled, licking her lips.

"That's right..." She said, before slipping out of her clothes. Once she got out of her panties, she turned back towards me. "So why don't you just take those pants off, and let me do-"

"Not this time!" I said, cutting her off and pushing her onto her back, much to her shock and confusion.

"Guh...!" She puffed, as her back hit the mattress, and she was stunned for a few seconds. "N-Naruto... W-what are-" She tried to say, only to cut herself off with a gasp as I managed to pry open her legs, causing her cheeks to turn a deeper shade of red. "N-Naruto...?" She repeated, and I smirked, pulling her closer to me, her tails softly beating against me in weak, mock defense.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of you always deciding that you're in control. I think it's time we switched rolls for a bit..." I said, slowly circling her nether lips with my finger to tease her, careful not to touch them. She whined a bit, causing me to chuckle. "I'M in control this time, got it?" I asked, getting closer and closer with my finger, only to move it away right before it could touch. For the first few minutes, she tried to keep strong, to stay the one in control, however, after a bit more teasing, she finally caved.

"A-alright! Y-you win. You can be in control! J-just stop teasing me and get on with whatever it is you plan on doing!" She demanded, and I looked at her for a few seconds, contemplating continuing to tease her for that order, before deciding that enough was enough. Slowing down my circling, I pulled my hand away. Looking at me in desperation and disbelief, she gave another whine. However, before she could say anything, I looked into her eyes and grinned, before taking a deep breath and plunging my face into her moist slit, sending my tongue to rub against her walls. Eyes widening in surprise and relief, she threw her head back and let out a loud moan of pleasure. Having never done anything like this before, I had no idea whether or not I was doing this right, though her loud moans of pleasure made me think I was doing good enough. After a little bit longer, I had to pull back and catch my breath. Gasping for air, I looked to Kurama. Her face was beet red, her tongue sticking out slightly, and her eyes shut tight. Smirking, I opened my mouth to talk, only for her to press her hands against the back of my head and press me back down.

"Hey, I'm supposed to be in control!" I said, only for my voice to be muffled in her depths, causing her to moan and press on me harder.

"Y-yes! Just like that!" She yelled, grinding against my face. Figuring that I wouldn't be going anywhere until I got her off, I once again dug in, sending my tongue deep inside. After a few minutes, Kurama giving me small chances to breathe, I could tell she was getting closer. Her walls spastically gripped and released my tongue, as if trying to milk it for something it couldn't give. Besides the rhythmic grip and release of my tongue, her hands also pushed me deeper and harder against her. Feeling the need to breathe once again, I tried to pull away, only to realize that I couldn't move an inch. Beginning to struggle, I tried to pull away, to get more air, but the more I struggled, the more she pressed down. As a last ditch effort, I grabbed her clit between my thumb and index finger and squeezed, causing her to gasp; The mix of pleasure and pleasure sending her over the edge. With a long moan, her juices flowed, getting in my mouth, as well as all over my face. Finally coming down from her high, she seemed to realize what happened. Feeling my weakening struggles, she immediately let go. "Naruto!" She said, pulling me up into a sitting position. "Are you ok?!" She asked, and after a few seconds, I began to cough and gasp for air. Catching my breath, I gave her a look.

"I thought _I_ was in control." I said, and she slowly shook her head.

"Oh, Naruto. I thought you would have realized... You have to be the strongest one to be in control... You may be getting there, but you're not there yet." She said, and I felt a blow to my pride. Seeing this, she frowned for a few seconds, before giving a lusty smile. "It was a great attempt... Though it seems you were so busy _attempting_ to dominate me, you didn't get any pleasure back..." She said, reaching into my pants and boxers, grabbing my dick, which has been trying to escape it's clothing prison this whole time. "So I repeat... Why don't you slip out of those clothing and let me give you some pleasure..." She said, her voice as smooth as silk. Swallowing, I followed her suggestion; Removing my pants and boxers, as well as my T-shirt. As my dick popped out, she grinned, licking her lips. "Oh, I've got something special in mind for you!" She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"Something special? " I asked, and she nodded.

"Yup!" She said, placing her hands below her breasts and giving them a bounce, before pressing them together. "Why don't you come over here and stick your dick between here?" She said, sticking out her tongue, and licking the crevice between her boobs.

"Y-your... breasts?" I asked, and she gave me a deadpan look.

"Yes, my breasts! Don't play dumb, I've seen the way you look at them!" She said, and I looked away slightly, before moving over to her.

"So, what do I have to do?" I asked, and she once again smiled lustfully.

"Just stay there and let me work my magic!" She said with a chuckle, before leaning forward and wrapping my dick in the soft warmth of her boobs. As she slowly began to move up and down, I groaned, losing myself in the snug warmth. Looking up at me and giving me a wink, she slowly lifted her head until it was right above it, then gently lowered her head, engulfing my member in her mouth, gently sucking on the tip. Carefully taking in more, she began to rhythmically bob her head, turning her head slightly every few seconds. After a couple minutes, I really began to enjoy myself, and after a few more minutes, my hands found their way to the back of her head, behind her ears. The moment my hands touched the back of her head, she hummed in surprise, which caused a jolt of pleasure to run up my spine. After a split second pause, she closed her eyes, seemingly accepting the placement of my hands as I slowly began moving her head. Chuckling and sending more vibrations through my dick, she began to move with the motions of my hands, and soon, I was careening closer and closer to my release. Taking to heart what she had said before about needing to be stronger to be in control, and realizing that this might be my last chance, feeling myself about to blow, I began to pull back, much to her confusion. Lifting her mouth off of me, she looked at me in confusion. "What are you-" She began, before being cut off by a groan from me. Sensing what was about to happen, she quickly closed her eyes, right as I let out another groan and went over the edge.

The first shot hit and landed across her tightly closed left eye and her cheek. The second shot hit her bottom lip and her chin as she flinched backwards, pulling back and releasing my dick from her breasts. Finally, the last shot landed across her exposed breasts. Finally coming down, I was able to catch my breath. Looking up at Kurama, I could see her glaring at me, though the way she looked right now, it was hard to take her seriously. "Really?" She asked, giving a small huff of annoyance

"Here, let me go get you a paper towel or something." I said, snickering slightly. Seeing my snickering, her glare turned to a cocky grin.

"Oh... No need, I have something right here..." She said, before grabbing my discarded T-shirt.

"Wait, what?" I asked, before I noticed my shirt. "Wait, not my shirt!" I said, before she wiped her face and breasts with it. "Great... Now I've got to throw my t-shirt in the washer." I said.

"Well, you should have thought of that before you did what you did." She said, before sticking out her tongue and throwing the shirt at me. Sighing, I took it to the washer, before tossing it in. Starting it up, I returned to the bed. "Such a waste too..." She said, taking her finger and wiping off some of the cum she had missed, before sticking that finger into her mouth and licking it off. Not being able to look away, I began to feel myself getting hard again. Seeing this, she chuckled. "Nah, I'm not feeling in the mood right now." She said, and I looked at her in surprise.

"You? Not in the mood? That's a first!" I said, before continuing. "But come on, you can't be that upset, can you?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Oh, I'm not upset. I'm just showing you that just because we're mates, that doesn't mean you can get away with everything." She said, and I sighed, hopping into bed. "If I really was upset, we wouldn't be sleeping in the same bed!" She said, and I nodded in understanding. "Now come on, you were right, let's get some sleep." She said, before laying down and turning around, her back towards me. Though she said she wasn't upset, I could still tell she was. Laying down next to her, I sighed once again. "Sorry..." I said, and when I got no reply other than a slight flick of a tail, I nodded to myself, before closing my eyes and preparing to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

_Naruto's POV_

Rolling over in bed, I slowly opened my eyes, noticing that Kurama wasn't next to me. Stretching and sitting up, I looked around, finally noticing her looking out the window. One of her ears giving a twitch, she looked over at me.

"So, you're finally awake." She said, an edge to her voice. Blinking, I looked at her in confusion for a few seconds, my tired mind trying to think of why she would be upset, before I remembered last night.

"You still mad about last night?" I asked, and she once again looked out the window.

"Didn't I tell you before that I wasn't mad?" She asked, and I frowned.

"You say that, but..." I said, trailing off. Giving up with whatever she was looking at outside, she turned back towards me, looking at me with curiosity.

"What even compelled you to do that?" She asked, and I flinched slightly, before sighing.

"I don't know... I guess I just wanted a last chance to feel like I was in control." I said, and she looked at me for a few seconds, before rolling her eyes.

"Are you serious? How about the next time you get an idea like that, you think it through, then choose _not_ to do it." She said, before sighing. "Though if it means that much to you to be in control, I suppose I could try to let you once in a while... But _after_ you master sage mode." She said, seeing the look on my face. Nodding understandingly, I began to get out of bed. Watching me, Kurama closed the curtain, and stood up. "So, what's the plan? Today's the day we head out again, right?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah. What time is it, by the way?" I asked, and she looked at the clock on the wall.

"About nine thirty." She said, and I once again nodded, thinking for a minute or two.

"Ok, we still have some time. After I get dressed and throw my shirt into the dryer, do you want to go get something to eat?" I asked, managing to get a smile and a nod. Getting up, I walked over to the washer; Opening it and grabbing my soaked shirt. Transferring it to the dryer and turning it on, I closed the hatch, before making my way over to my suitcase to grab a new shirt. Getting dressed, I turned to Kurama. "Are you ready?" I asked, and she nodded, slipping on her shirt, before following me as I opened the door. Locking the door behind us, we walked around the village for a bit, looking for a good place to get something to eat. Deciding to get some dumplings, we ended up stopping at a small tea shop in the village. Ordering some sweet dumplings, we sat down at a table with our dumplings. Picking one of the skewers up, Kurama took a bite, closing her eyes in contentment, before opening her eyes again and looking at me in curiosity.

"So, we're moving on to the Land of Waves next, right?" She asked, and I looked at her for a few seconds, before shaking my head.

"Actually, I wanted to make two quick stops first." I said, and she looked at me in confusion. "By the way, are you able to change disguises or is that the only one you know?" I asked, and she smirked.

"Why? What's wrong with this disguise? Getting tired of my looks already?" She asked, playfully sticking her tongue out, and I shook my head.

"Like I said, I wanted to make a couple stops." I said, and her playful smirk faded, being replaced by a serious look.

"You want to stop by the Hidden Leaf, don't you?" She asked, and I hesitated for a few seconds, before nodding, causing her to frown. "Are you sure that's a good idea? They are going to be on the look out for you and me now, and you plan on waltzing in?" She asked, and I sighed.

"I want to get one last look at the village. And of course I'm not going to just walk in, I'll be disguised as well. Plus, this would give us a chance to get some Ichiraku ramen. I can promise you that you'd enjoy it." I said, and she continued to frown, before sighing again.

"It's up to you. Just be careful. We aren't really on good terms with the village." She said, before continuing. "Anyways, yes, I do know some other forms, so you don't have to worry about that. I'm curious though what you have in mind as a disguise." She said, and I smiled, picking up a skewer and beginning to eat. After finishing up and paying, we left, and I took a breath of fresh air.

"Well, I'd say we should head back and pack up, then stop by and say goodbye to Gaara, as well as thank him for everything." I said, and Kurama nodded, before looking thoughtful.

"You know, I still find it surprising how helpful he's been, especially with who's inside him..." She said, and I frowned.

"True... Though Gaara is a good friend. From what I've seen, he's nothing like Shukaku anymore." I said quietly, and she looked at me in surprise for a few seconds.

"I almost forgot, you faced Shukaku during those Chunin exams. I'm just shocked you were able to defeat him as you were back then, without my help even!" She said as we walked, and I blinked.

"Well, that's not true. I did have your help in a way." I said, and she looked at me in confusion. "In the end, I had to help Gamabunta by picturing you so that he could use Genjutsu." I said, and she frowned.

"I must not have been paying attention then. Still, to defeat Shukaku without using my chakra, that's impressive." She said, and I smiled. After a few seconds of silence, she spoke up again. "So, you said there was two stops you wanted to make? Besides the Leaf Village, where else did you want to stop?" She asked.

"Gaara told me about this person near the Land of Waves that makes weapons for Jinchūriki. I may no longer be a Jinchūriki, but I still have access to your chakra, and these weapons utilize that chakra." I said, and her eyes narrowed.

"Really... How come I've never heard of this person?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"I don't know, but Gaara gave me an address. I have it written down at the apartment." I said, and she nodded thoughtfully. After walking for about five minutes, we made it back to the apartment. Leaving the door open, I pulled my suitcase backpack out from under the bed and began to pack away Kurama and I's things. Getting my shirt from the dryer, I put it in the backpack, before slinging it around my back. Seeing the slip of paper with the address on it, I handed it to Kurama. Taking it and looking it over, she frowned.

"Like I said before, I've never heard of any weapon smiths who could forge weapons that utilize a Jinchūriki's chakra like that. Though I have been locked away for quite a while, so it could be real, though I would be wary of it being a possible trap." She said, and I looked at her in shock.

"You're not seriously thinking that Gaara would send us into a trap, are you?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"No, of course not! I'm just saying, there are people out there that wouldn't think twice about going after a Jinchūriki. If it is a trap, it could of very well been originally meant for Gaara." She said, before sighing. "Just... Be cautious around things that may be too good to be true, ok?" She prompted, and I nodded, giving her a calming smile.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine. This could even be a good chance to get better weapons." I said, and she just nodded slightly, still not seeming all that sure. "I'll tell you what. Let's at least scope it out, if it seems like a trap, we'll go right on by, ok?" I asked, and she sighed and shrugged.

"It's mainly up to you." She said, and I straightened the bag's strap.

"Right, well let's start heading for Gaara's Office." I said, double checking that I had everything, before stepping out of the apartment and closing the door after Kurama, locking it for the last time. Heading down and handing the key to the man behind the desk, we began heading for the Kazekage building, having already paid for the apartment we were staying in. Making our way to the Kazekage building's front door, we stepped inside, immediately being greeted by Temari, who was standing near the hallway that lead to Gaara's office.

"Oh, good morning Naruto, Kurama, how are you?" She asked, and I smiled.

"Good morning, Temari. We're doing ok, what about you?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Well, I certainly can't complain. So, what are you here for this morning?" She asked, and I sighed.

"We're getting ready to head out. We just wanted to stop by and thank you all for everything." I said, and her eyes widened slightly.

"Really? You're leaving already?!" She asked, and I nodded.

"I'm afraid so. We were only staying for a week. We have things figured out, and we're ready to start now." I said, and she nodded understandingly, though she still looked slightly sad.

"I get it. So, I take it you'd like to see Gaara now?" She asked, and I nodded. "Ok, well follow me. He's talking with Kankoro right now, so this actually works out." She said, leading us to the door to Gaara's office, before knocking and opening the door slightly, peeking her head inside. "Excuse me, Gaara, Kankoro, Naruto and Kurama are here." She said, and Gaara called for us to enter. Opening the door farther for us, Temari let us enter, before walking in and closing the door behind us.

"Ah, good morning you two." Gaara said, and Kankoro nodded at us.

"Good morning. Sorry to bother you two, but we just wanted to thank you for everything, as well as say that we're about to head out." I said, and he nodded understandingly.

"So I take it you've planned out what you're going to do next?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, we're going to stop by and say goodbye to some friends in the Land of Waves, as well as do some training." I said, and Gaara gave me a knowing look.

"You've certainly been doing a lot of training lately. Kankoro was just telling me about the state of the training dummies in the training cave." He said, and I gave an apologetic look.

"Yeah... Sorry about that. I was learning a new jutsu." I said, and Kankoro shook his head.

"Eh, don't worry about it. They're pretty easy to make, I could make more. Though, I'm curious what kind of jutsu could do that much damage." He said, and I looked at Kurama, not sure if I should say anything about any jutsus she teaches me. After a few seconds, she shrugged.

"The Bijuu Bomb." She said simply, and both Kankoro and Gaara looked at her in confusion.

"Is that the jutsu you said was volatile?" Temari spoke up, standing near the door. Kurama nodded, before continuing.

"The Bijuu Bomb is the highest level jutsu a Jinchūriki can learn, and can only truly be taught by a Tailed Beast." She said, and Gaara nodded in interest.

"I see... But then how was Naruto able to learn it? He's technically not a Jinchūriki anymore." He said, and Kurama nodded in acknowledgement.

"You're right, though he still has quite a bit of my chakra inside of him, which allows him to use the Bijuu Bomb as if he was still a Jinchūriki." She explained.

"So, judging by the damage, I take it you've mastered this jutsu?" Kankoro asked, and I hesitated.

"...Almost. So far I'm only able to form small versions of it." I said, and he looked at me in shock.

"So you're saying that that damage was caused by a jutsu that wasn't even at full power?!" He asked.

"Well, like I said, it is the highest level jutsu a Jinchūriki can learn..." Kurama said, and Kankoro shook his head in disbelief. After a few seconds of silence, I sighed.

"Well, it's about time we got ready to head out." I said, and Gaara nodded understandingly.

"I understand. By the way, I meant to give this to you before, but I heard you were... Under the weather." He said, before reaching into his desk. Looking at him in confusion, I watched as he pulled out an envelope and held it out for me.

"What's this?" I asked, taking the envelope and looking at it curiously.

"This is your pay for helping guard the village. You may not be a member of the Hidden Sand, but that doesn't mean you don't get paid for helping out." He said, and I looked at him in surprise, before opening the envelope. Looking inside and counting the Ryō, my surprise turned into shock.

"T-this is three hundred Ryō! Are you sure about this?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Yes. Like I told you before, guarding the village is usually reserved for the ANBU and other sand shinobi, so the pay is higher." He said, and I quickly thanked him. Shaking his head, he gave me a smile. "Don't mention it. You did the work, you deserve to be paid for said work." He said, before glancing out the window and sighing. "Well, if you're going to be heading out, you should head out now before it's too late; It looks like we may get a sandstorm soon." He said, and I looked out, only to see some clouds on the horizon, and I recalled the light breeze that seemed to pick up on the way here. Nodding, I started to make my way towards the door, Kurama following me, before Gaara spoke up. "And Naruto... Make sure to stop by sometime. Know that you're always welcome." He said, and Temari nodded. Smiling, I nodded, though I looked away.

"Thank you, and we'll try, but it might not be for a while. Kurama and I are going to be dropping off the grid for a while." I said, and Gaara nodded understandingly. Sighing to myself, we once again began making our way to the door. "Thanks again for everything, Gaara, Kankoro, Temari." I said, before opening the door. "Oh, and Gaara, I'm sure they'll come around eventually." I said, referring to the villagers, before exiting the office, Kurama following close behind. Making our way to the entrance of the village, we began our trek to the first stop on our journey: The Hidden Leaf Village.


	12. Chapter 12

_Naruto's POV_

Walking slowly through the desert, we plodded on, heading towards the Land of Fire, and in turn, the Hidden Leaf Village. Passing by the dunes that signaled the view range from the Village Hidden in The Sand, I turned to Kurama.

"You can drop the disguise now, we're out of eyesight." I said, and she frowned, looking at me in confusion.

"Huh?" She asked, before a look of realization crossed her face. "Oh!" She said, before putting up the hand sign to release the disguise jutsu. Once back in her original form, she sighed in relief, rolling her shoulders and flexing her tails. "I've gotten so used to being disguised, I almost forgot I still was." She said, and I nodded understandingly, before she sighed and looked at me. "So, what's the plan? Surely we couldn't just walk into the Hidden Leaf. Even disguised, wouldn't they still notice two strangers waltzing through the front gate?" She asked, and I gave her a calming smile.

"The Hidden Leaf's security isn't that great if you know your way through it." I said, and she looked at me in interest.

"Oh? And I suppose you do? So, what's your big plan?" She asked, and I smirked.

"Simple. The same way Itachi Uchiha did. Being a previous Leaf Shinobi, we'll be able to enter The Hidden Leaf's territory without setting off their barrier jutsu. Once inside the territory, we'd make our way to the front gate, where the guards are stationed. Since no alarms would have gone off, they'll assume we've been cleared for entry. Sure, they might ask us a few questions... Who are we, what are we doing there, and they might just pull out their bingo books, but we won't be in them, at least, not our disguised selves..." Once we're given entry to the village, we're good to go." I said, and Kurama looked at me in surprise.

"Hey... That's not actually that bad. You do have a plan!" She said, before giving me a suspicious look. "Wait a minute... That's the kind of plan that takes quite a bit of thinking. How long have you been planning to return to the village?" She asked, and I shrugged.

"Since before I even brought it up." I said, and she sighed. "But that doesn't matter right now. The point is, we have a plan to get in." I said, and she nodded.

"So, Naruto, I know you said you just wanted to take a look around, but why else do you want to go to the Hidden Leaf so bad?" She asked, and I sighed.

"I may have had a hard time growing up in that village, but the fact is, I still grew up there. They may have hated me, but it was still my home. If we're going to be dropping off the map for a while, I at least want to spend one last day in the village without worrying about any hate." I said, and her gaze seemed to soften.

"Right... I have another question." She said, and I looked at her for a few seconds, before shaking my head slightly.

"Wait, what's with the sudden twenty questions?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. Kurama just shrugged her shoulders.

"Just generally curious and trying to pass the time while we walk, that's all." She said, before going on. "Anyways, if you were given the chance to have lived your life without me sealed inside of you, would you take that chance?" She asked, looking genuinely curious. Looking at her in surprise for a few seconds, I once again looked ahead of us, before frowning.

"You know, earlier in life, the answer would probably have been yes. Things definitely would have been easier growing up, but nowadays, I've realized something when looking back." I said, and she looked at me curiously. "Looking back, having you sealed inside me did more good than bad. It gave me something to overcome. You, albeit unintentionally, made me stronger the more you tried to break the seal. So, looking back, no, I would not take the chance... Was that the answer you were looking for?" I asked, and she smiled, wrapping a tail around me. After walking for a few hours, the wind began to pick up, and clouds of sand began to fly by us. Covering her muzzle with her shirt, she looked up and sheilded her eyes.

"It looks like that sand storm that Gaara mentioned before is beginning to hit." She said, and I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt as well. Looking up ahead, I could just barely see the cave from before up ahead in the distance.

"Hey, there's the cave from before. If we run, we could get there in a few minutes. Do you think we'd make it?" I asked, and Kurama squinted, before quickly looking around.

"We may be able to, but it'd be safer if we took cover over there." She said, pointing towards an outcrop of sandstone, where there appeared to be a small dip in the ground. Making a quick decision, we ran towards the sandstone outcrop, taking shelter in the small ditch like area. Taking cover behind the outcrop, the wind picked up even more, and visibility was almost zero.

"Wow, that really hit fast." I said, and she nodded, scooting back until her back was against the sandstone.

"Yeah, and it's really going to set us back a bit; Sandstorms like this can last a while." She said, letting out a sigh. Frowning, I reached into my bag.

"Well, we can just think of this as a break. We've been walking for a while, and we wouldn't have made it to the Land of Fire today anyways. And Quite frankly, I could use a break to get something to eat. What about you, are you hungry?" I asked, pulling out two small wrapped loaves of bread. Smiling slightly, she took one and unwrapped it, before taking a bite.

"So, what do we do now?" She asked. Twenty minutes had went by, and the sandstorm only continued to rage on. Sitting next to her with my back against the wall, I shrugged.

"I guess we just relax. There's nothing else we really can do while stuck here like this." I said, and she sighed. Sitting in silence for a few seconds, I turned to Kurama. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, but what did _you_ want to do after we reach the Land of Tofu? I mean, besides what's already been planned, I don't know what to do next, and I don't really want to be the only one deciding what we end up doing." I said, and she frowned, looking thoughtful.

"Well, if that's the case, we could always just travel around. I believe you mentioned getting jobs from people looking for help before. We could always do that. And to be honest, I haven't gotten to see how much everything has changed since I've been sealed, so this would be a great time." She said, and I nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, we could do that. Just traveling around does seem like it could be fun. Plus, it would give us a chance to try the different foods." I said, and she smiled.

"Hey, you still have that scroll with your father's jutsu, don't you?" She asked, and I nodded. "Why don't you take a look at it. We have the time, and it would give you something to do while we wait for this sandstorm to pass." She said, and I frowned, before shaking my head.

"Nah, to be honest, I was planning to wait until I learned Sage Mode. I can't really focus on two things at once, and something tells me both are going to take my full attention." I said, and she nodded.

"Well, mind if I take a look at the scroll then? You might not be interested in it right now, but I wouldn't mind seeing how your father did it." She said, and I hesitated for a few seconds, before reaching into my bag.

"He probably wouldn't like the fact that _you_ were trying to learn his jutsu, but here." I said, handing her the scroll. Taking it, she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah? Well he could get over it. After all, the only reason he knew his precious Rasengan was from studying my Bijuu Bomb." She said, before unraveling the scroll and beginning to study it, letting her eyes scan the paper. After a few minutes, she let out a low whistle. "You know, your father must have had high expectations of you." She said, looking up from the scroll.

"Why? What do you mean?" I asked, and she pointed to the paper.

"This is a high level S rank jutsu. One so complex, that even he must have had a difficult time mastering it, yet he still had enough faith in you that he passed it on to you. He honestly believed that you'd be able to master it as well." She said, and I blinked, before taking out my father's old kunai, absentmindedly fiddling with it.

"Really? He really had that much faith in me?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, really. I have no doubt in my mind that he had great expectations that you would go far." She said, and I sighed slightly.

"Well, I must have let him down. Turns out I didn't really turn out how he expected." I said, and Kurama swatted me hard with her tail.

"Hey! Knock that off! You're just starting off, give it time. You've already managed to learn the Rasengan and Bijuu Bomb, in my opinion, you're doing great. I'm sure he would have been proud of you." She said, and I gave her a weak smile. Pretty soon, the shadow of night began to creep across the desert sand, and the temperature began to drop. "Hey Naruto, why don't you get some sleep? The storm is obviously not going to stop any time soon." She said, and I looked at her in confusion.

"What about you?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Well, someone's got to keep watch. I'll stay up and wake you when the storm stops or something happens." She said, and I looked at her for a few seconds, before shrugging.

"If you're sure, than ok. But we're still far enough in the desert that we don't really have to worry about anyone bothering us, and plus, the sandstorm would prevent it anyways. Try to get some sleep too if you can." I said, before reaching into my bag and grabbing a spare shirt and balling it up, setting it under my head. Groaning slightly as I tried to get comfortable. "Remind me to buy some blankets and pillows when we get to the village." I said, and she smirked, wrapping her tails around me, before pulling me close to her until I was laying against her front.

"Why would you need all that when you have me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "As for pillows... You've got two right here." She said, letting my head rest against her breasts. Smirking back at her, I rolled my eyes, though I did enjoy the warmth of her fur against me.

"Yeah, what _was_ I thinking?" I asked sarcastically, and she rolled her eyes as well. Getting comfortable, I closed my eyes, and she smiled down at me, before turning her gaze towards the opening of the small outcrop.

After a while, Kurama gently shook my shoulder, and I flinched slightly, before slowly opening my eyes. Looking around, I realized that the sun was up. Not only that, but the sandstorm had stopped. "Time to wake up, Naruto. I told you I'd wake you when the storm stopped. It stopped a little before sun up, but I decided to let you sleep." She said, and I thanked her, before stretching and sitting up. After a few seconds, I turned towards her.

"Well, since the storm has stopped, are you ready to head out again?" I asked, and she nodded. "If we head out now and keep at a steady pace, we should get to about the edge of the Land of Fire by tonight." I said.

"So we won't reach the village until tomorrow..." She said, and I agreed.

"Right. So if you're ready, let's start heading out." I said, and she once again nodded, before following as we once again began heading for the Hidden Leaf village.

 **Sorry about the long wait, like I've written on my 'Writing Status', I've gotten a new computer after about two years not having one, but I am back writing now.**

 **~spudbud16**


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